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THE  ROMAN 
ELEGIAC  POETS 


EDITED  WITH    INTRODUCTION 
AND    NOTES   BY 

KARL  POMEROY   HARRINGTON 

PROFESSOR   OF   THE   LATIN    LANGUAGE  AND   LITERATURE 
IN    WESLEYAN    UNIVERSITY 


AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI  CHICAGO 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
KARL  POMEROY  HARRINGTON. 

Copyright,  1914,  in  Great  Britain. 


HARRINGTON.       ROMAN    ELEGIAC    POETS. 

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PATRIS  •  MEMORIAE  •  QUI  •  INCEPIT  •  IDEMQUE 
MENTEM  •  MEAM  •  AD  •  OPUS  •  PERSEQUENDUM 
EXCITAVIT. 


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323351 


PREFACE 

The  need  of  a  college  textbook  containing  a  judicious  selec- 
tion from  the  whole  field  of  Roman  elegy  with  suitable  introduc- 
tory matter  and  English  comments  has  long  been  evidenced  by 
the  announcements  of  various  publishers  that  such  books  were 
in  preparation.  The  present  edition  was  undertaken  many  years 
ago  by  my  father,  the  plan  as  then  conceived  being  somewhat 
less  comprehensive  than  that  which  has  now  been  worked  out. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  already  written  some  notes  on 
Propertius  for  the  contemplated  book,  the  last  words  appearing 
in  his  manuscript,  penned  amid  increasing  feebleness,  being,  by 
a  touching  coincidence,  one  of  his  happy  English  versions,  read- 
ing, '  Ah  me !  that  the  strain  should  be  so  feeble  in  my  mouth  ! ' 
(4,  I,  58).  Such  of  those  first-draft  notes  as  were  available  have 
been  included  in  this  edition  under  the  signature  "(C.  S.)." 

The  magnitude  of  the  task  has  grown  with  the  years,  as  the 
vast  amount  of  material  published  in  connection  with  the  four 
authors  from  which  these  selections  are  taken  has  increased. 
Moreover,  the  classes  in  which  a  book  of  this  kind  will  be  used 
require  in  many  cases  a  relatively  advanced  grade  of  comment ; 
yet  the  linguistic  basis  for  higher  scholarship  is  too  often  in 
America  sadly  wanting,  and,  incongruous  as  it  may  appear,  the 
somewhat  elementary  note  seems  to  be  required,  side  by  side 
with  one  that  stimulates  to  original  research.  It  is  with  a  full 
appreciation  of  the  impossibility  of  meeting  equally  well  all  the 
possible  varieties  of  demands  made  by  the  different  users  of  the 
book  that  the  editor  ventures  at  length  to  give  it  to  the  public. 

The  arrangement  of  both  the  commentary  and  a  carefully 
selected  conspectus  of  variant  textual  readings  on  the  same 
page  with  the  text  will,  in  practice,  commend  itself  as  the  most 
practical  one  for  the  kind  of  classes  for  which  the  book  is  in- 
tended. Special  effort  has  been  made  by  running  analysis  to 
make  the  outline  of  the  elegy  clear  to  the  student. 

5 


6  PREFACE 

The  text  of  the  elegiac  poets  has  been  severely  handled  b} 
editors,  new  and  old,  suffering  with  the  ancient  Athenian  lust  foi 
"  some  new  thing."  To  reconstruct  a  text  to-day  which  shoulc 
take  seriously  all  the  transpositions,  divisions,  combinations, 
and  smart  conjectures  of  the  German,  English,  and  American 
"  Athenians  "  of  this,  and  the  preceding,  generation,  would  be  a 
task  from  which  even  a  modern  Hercules  might  well  shrink. 
Propertius,  in  particular,  is  a  battle  ground  for  the  critics,  and 
it  is  too  much  to  hope  that  any  text  accepted  and  any  views 
adopted  about  Propertius  will  receive  unanimous  approval.  In 
advance  of  the  complete  publication  of  the  Codex  Romanus 
of  Catullus,  Professor  Hale  has  kindly  given  me  several  im- 
portant readings  from  his  collation,  and  desires  me  in  publishing 
them  to  call  attention  to  their  importance  in  establishing  the 
character  of  R,  and  the  age  in  general  of  such  variants  in  G 
and  R  as  were  written  by  the  first  corrector  of  each.  It  has 
also  been  my  privilege  to  make  a  personal  examination  of  R  and 
of  several  other  important  Mss.  of  the  various  authors  repre- 
sented in  this  volume.  The  text  as  now  presented  will  show 
that,  while  conservative,  it  has  been  given  the  benefit  of  the 
results  of  recent  critical  Tesearch. 

By  confining  the  selections  strictly  to  poems  written  in  the 
elegiac  measure,  by  the  choice  of  elegies,  and  by  many  cross- 
references  to  the  four  authors  included,  I  have  hoped  to  assist 
the  student  to  obtain  a  general  acquaintance  with  the  develop- 
ment of  this  type  of  poetry  at  Rome.  In  citations  from  elegies 
printed  in  some  part  of  this  book,  it  has  been  thought  best  to 
refer  to  the  passage  without  quoting  in  full. 

I  desire  to  make  grateful  acknowledgments  to  the  various 
friends  that  have  so  kindly  assisted  my  labors,  especially  to  my 
colleague,  Professor  Joseph  W.  Hewitt,  for  his  invaluable  aid  and 
suggestions  in  reading  a  large  part  of  the  manuscript  before 
publication. 

KARL   POMEROY   HARRINGTON. 

Wesleyan  University. 


CONTENTS 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF   WORKS   FREQUENTLY   CITED 9 

INTRODUCTION: 

Elegy 15 

Pre-Roman  Elegy 15 

Roman  Elegy 20 

Catullus ,    ,    .    „ 25 

tibullus 31 

Propertius 43 

Ovid 55 

The  Elp:giac  Distich ,    ...  61 

I.   Hexameters , 63 

II.    Pentameters 65 


a/' 


J 


CATVLLI    CARMINA 

PAGE 


Mss.  signs 68 

Carmen  65 69 

Carmen  66  IX* 72 

Carmen  68 83 

Carmen  70  ...     ......     99 

Carmen  72 99 

Carmen  73 100 

Carmen  75 loi 

Carmen  76 102 

Carmen  82 104 

Carmen  83  .....     ^    ..     .  105 

Carmen  84 105 

Carmen  8t; 107 

ALBII    TIBVLLI 

Mss.  signs 120 

Liber  Primus : 
Elegia  !.''...,.....  121 
Elegia  3  .........    .  130 

Elegia  7  .    T   .     . 140 

Elegia  10     .'  . 147 

Liber  Secundus : 

Elegia  i  .   T 154 

Elegia  2  .     ._^    ,...„...  163 

Elegia  5.7 •  165 

Elegia  6  ,     .^  .,....,.  177 


Carmen  86 107 

Carmen  87 108 

Carmen  92 108 

Carmen  93 109 

Carmen  95 109 

Carmen  96 m 

Carmen  99 112 

Carmen  loi    . 113 

Carmen  102 115 

Carmen  107 115 

Carmen  108 116 

Carmen  109    . 117 

Carmen  116 118 

ELEGIAE 

Liber  Tertius : 

Elegia  2  .    .     . 182 

Elegia  3 =     .    .     .     .  185 

Elegia  5 187 

Liber  Quartus : 

Elegia  2 190 

Elegia  4 .  192 

Elegia  6 194 

Elegia  8 195 

Elegia  9  . 196 

Elegia  11 196 

Elegia  13 197 


8 


CONTENTS 
SEXTI    PROPERIl    ELEGIAE 


PAGE 

Mss.  signs       .........  200 

Liber  Primus : 

Elegia  i 201 

Elegia  2 204 

Elegia  6 .  207 

Elegia  7 211 

Elegia  8 214 

Elegia  8b 217 

Elegia  9 219 

Elegia  12 223 

Elegia  14 .  224 

Elegia  17 227 

Elegia  18 231 

Elegia  19 235 

Elegia  22 237 

Liber  Secundus : 

Elegia  10 239 

Elegia  11 242 

Elegia  12 243 

Elegia  13 246 

Elegia  26 253 

Elegia  27 259 


PAGE 

Elegia  28 .  261 

Elegia  31 267 

Liber  'lertius : 

Elegia  i 270 

Elegia  2 274 

Elegia  3 276 

Elegia  4 282 

Elegia  5 285 

Elegia  7 290 

Elegia  9 297 

Elegia  11 303 

Elegia  16 312 

Elegia  18     , 314 

Elegia  21 318 

Elegia  24 322 

Elegia  25 324 

Liber  Quartus : 

Elegia  i 326 

Elegia  3 339 

Elegia  4 347 

Elegia  b 355 

Elegia  11 363 


P.    OVIDI    NASONIS 


Mss.  signs 374 

Amores : 

Liber  Primus : 

Elegia  i 375 

Elegia  3  .     . 377 

Elegia  15 379 

Liber  Secundus : 

Elegia  6 383 

Elegia  11 387 

INDEX   OF   FIRST   LINES      .     .    . 
GENERAL   INDEX   


Elegia  16 390 

Elegia  17 393 

Liber  Tertius : 

Elegia  9 395 

Elegia  15      ........  400 

Heroidum  Epistula  13  ....  402 

Tristia : 

Liber  Primus,  Elegia  3     .     .     .     .  410 

Liber  Quartus,  Elegia  10      ...  415 


424 
429 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

OF  WORKS  FREQUENTLY  CITED,  ARRANGED  ALPHABETICALLY 

BY  ABBREVIATIONS 

A.  =  Allen  and  Greenough,  New  Latin  Grammar,  Boston.  1903. 

AJA.  =  American  Journal  of  Archaeology. 

AJP.  =  American  Journal  of  Philology. 

Aid.  =  Catullus,  et  in  eum  commentarius  M.  Antonii  Mureti.     Ab  eodem 

correcti,  et  scholiis  illustrati,  Tibullus,  et  Propertius.     Venice,  1562. 
Baehrens  =  Baehrens,    Aemilius :     Albii    Tibulli    Elegiarum     Libri    Duo. 

Accedunt  Pseudo-Tibulliana,  Leipzig,  1878. 
Baehrens  Cat.  =  Catulli  Veronensis  Liber.     Recensuit  Aemilius  Baehrens. 

Vol.  I,  Leipzig,  1876;  Vol.  II,  Commentarium  continens,  1885;  Nova 

editio  a  K.  P.  Schulze  curata,  1893. 
Baehrens    PLM.  =  Poetae    Latini     Minores.       Recensuit    et    emendavit 

Aemilius    Baehrens,  Leipzig,  1879—1883. 
Baehrens  Prop.  =  Sex.  Propertii  Elegiarum  Libri  IV.    Recensuit  Aemilius 

Baehrens,  Leipzig,  1880. 
Baehrens  Tib.  Bl.  =  Baehrens,  Emil :  Tibullische  Blatter,  Jena,  1876. 
Baum.  Denk.  =  Baumeister,    A. :    Denkmiiler  des  klassischen  Altertums, 

Munich  and  Leipzig,  1887. 
Bell.  =  Belling,  H. :  Albius  Tibullus,  Untersuchung  und  Text,  Berlin,  1897. 
Bell.  Prol.  =  Belling,  H.  :  Kritische  Prolegomena  zu  Tibull,  Berlin,  1893. 
B.G.  =  Becker,  W.  A.  :  Gallus,  or  Roman  Scenes  of  the  Time  of  Augus- 
tus, translated  by  Frederick  Metcalfe.     7th  ed.,  London,  1882. 
BPW.  =  Berliner  Philologische  Wochenschrift. 
Brandt  =  P-  Ovidi  Nasonis  Amorum  Libri  Tres  erklart  von  Paul  Brandt, 

Leipzig,  1911. 
Burn,   RL.    and  RA.  =  Burn,  Robert:    Roman  Literature  in  Relation  to 

Roman  Art,  London,  1888. 
Bursian's  JB.  =  Jahresbericht  iiber  die  Fortschritte  der  klassischen  Alter- 

tumswissenschaft,  begriindet  von  Conrad  Bursian,  Leipzig. 
Butler  =  Sexti    Properti    Opera    Omnia,    with   a   Commentary,   by   H.   E. 

Butler,  London,  1905. 
Cartault  =  Cartault,  A. :   Tibulle  et  les  Auteurs  du  Corpus  Tibullianum, 

Paris,  1909. 
Cart.    Corp.   Tib.  =  Cartault,    A. :    Apropos    du    Corpus  Tibullianum,  un 

Siecle  de  Philologie  Latine  Classique,  Paris,  1906. 

9 


lO  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

Cart.  Dist.  El.  =  Cartault,  A. :    Le  Distique  Elegiaque  chez  Tibulle,  Sul- 

picia,  Lygdamus,  Paris,  1911. 
Carter  =  Carter,    Jesse  Benedict :    Selections  from  the  Roman  Elegiac 

Poets,  with  Introduction  and  Notes,  New  York,  1900. 
Champney  =  Champney,  Elizabeth  W. :  Romance  of  Imperial  Rome,  New 

York,  1910. 
Cranst.  =  Cranstoun,  James  :  The  Elegies  of  Albius  Tibullus,  translated 

into  English  verse,  London,  1872. 
Deutsch  =  Deutsch,  Monroe  E. :  Notes  on  the  Text  of  the  Corpus  Tibul- 

lianum,  Berkeley,  1912. 
Dissen  =  Dissennus,  Ludolphus  :  Albii  Tibulli  Carmina  ex  recensione  Car. 

Lachmanni  passim  mutata,  Gottingen,  1835. 
Draeger=  Draeger,  A. :  Ilistorische  Syntax  der  Lateinischen  Sprache,  2d 

ed.,  Leipzig,  1878. 
Duff  =  Duff,  J.  W. :  A  Literary  History  of  Rome,  London,  1909. 
Ellis,  Com.  =  Commentary  on  Catullus,  by  Robinson  Ellis,  Oxford,  1876 

(2d  ed.,  1889). 
Ellis,  Text  =  Catulli  Carmina  recognovit  Robinson  Ellis,  Oxford,  1904. 
Ellis,  Trans.  =  Ellis,  Robinson :    The  Poems  and  Fragments  of  Catullus 

translated  in  the  Metres  of  the  Original,  London,  1871. 
Enc.  Brit.  =  The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  11th  ed.,  Cambridge,  1911. 
Enk  =  P.  J.  Enk  :  Ad  Propertii  Carmina  Commentarius  Criticus,  Zutphen, 

1911. 
Fowler,  Rom.  Fest.  =  Fowler,  W.  Warde  :   The  Roman  Festivals  of  the 

Period  of  the  Republic,  London,  1899. 
Friedrich  =  Catulli  Veronensis  Liber,  erklart  von  Gustav  Friedrich,  Leip- 
zig and  Berlin,  1908. 
G.  =  Gildersleeve's  Latin  Grammar,  3d  ed.,  by  B.  L.  Gildersleeve  and  Gon- 
zalez Lodge,  New  York,  1894. 
Geikie  =  Geikie,  Archibald  :  The  Love  of  Nature  among  the  Romans,  etc., 

London, 1912. 
Gruppe  =  Gruppe,  Otto  F.  :   Die  romische  Elegie,  Leipzig,  1838. 
H.  =  Harkness,  Albert:  A  Complete  Latin  Grammar,  New  York.  1898. 
H.  &  T.  =  Harrington,    K.    P.,  and   Tolman,   H.   C. :  Greek  and  Roman 

Mythology,  Boston,  1897. 
Hansen  =  Hansen,    Marx :     De   Tropis   et    Figuris   apud   Tibullum,   Kiel, 

1881. 
Haupt,  Op.  =  Haupt,  Moritz  :    Opuscula,  edidit  U.  v.  Wilamowitz-Moellen- 

dorff,  Leipzig,  1875. 
Hertzberg  =  Sex.  Aurelii  Propertii  Elegiarum  Libri  Quattuor.     Illustravit 

Guil.  Ad.  B.  Hertzberg,  Halle,  1843-1845. 


ABBREVIATIONS  II 

HejnQe-Wunderlich  =  Albii  Tibulli  Carmina  Libri  Tres  cum  libro  quarto 
Sulpiciae  et  aliorum.  Chr.  G.  Heynii  editio  quarta  nunc  aucta  notis 
et  observationibus  Ern.  Car.  Frid.  Wunderlichii,  Leipzig,  1817. 

Hiller  =  Hiller,  Eduardus :  Albii  Tibulli  Elegiac  cum  Carminibus  Pseudo- 
Tibullianis,  Leipzig,  1885. 

Hosius  =  Sex.  Propertii  Elegiarum  Libri  IV.  Recensuit  Carolus  Hosius, 
Leipzig,  1911. 

Howe  =  Howe,  George :  Nature  Similes  in  Catullus,  in  Vol.  VII  of  Studies 
in  Philology,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  1911. 

H.-V.  =  Catulli  Tibulli  Propertii  Carmina  a  Mauricio  Hauptio  recognita. 
Editio  Septima  ab  lohanne  Vahleno  curata  et  a  Rudolfo  Helmio 
edita,  Leipzig,  1912. 

Jacoby  =  Jacoby,  Karl :  Anthologie  aus  den  Elegikern  der  Romer,  fiir  den 
Schulgebrauch  erklart,  Leipzig. 

L.  =  Lane,  G.  M. :  A  Latin  Grammar,  rev.  by  M.  H.  Morgan,  New  York, 
1903. 

Lachmann  =  Sex.  Aurelii  Propertii  Carmina  emendavit  et  annotavit  Caro- 
lus Lachmannus,  Leipzig,  1816. 

Lachmann,  Cat.  =  Q.  Valerii  Catulli  Veronensis  Liber  ex  recensione  Caroli 
Lachmanni,  Berlin,  1829. 

Lachmann,  Prop.  =  Sex.  Aurelii  Propertii  Elegiac  ex  recognitione  Caroli 
Lachmanni,  Berlin,  1829. 

Lachmann,  Tib.  =  Albii  Tibulli  Libri  Quattuor  ex  recensione  Caroli  Lach- 
manni, Berlin,  1829. 

Lamarre  =  Lamarre,  Clovis :  Histoire  de  la  Litterature  Latine,  Paris, 
1901. 

Leo  =  Leo,  F. :  Ueber  einigen  Elegien  Tibulls  :  Philologische  Untersuchun- 
gen,  2tes  Heft,  Berlin,  1881. 

LSHLG  =  Lindsay,  W.  M. :  A  Short  Historical  Latin  Grammar,  Oxford. 
1895. 

Madv.  =  Madvig,  J.  N.  :  A  Latin  Grammar  for  the  Use  of  Schools,  trans- 
lated by  Rev.  George  Woods.  Edited  by  Thomas  A.  Thacher,  Boston, 
1880. 

Martinengo  =  Martinengo-Cesaresco,  Evelyn  :  The  Outdoor  Life  in  Greek 
and  Roman  Poets,  London,  1911. 

Merrill  =  Catullus,  edited  by  Fllmer  Truesdell  Merrill,  Boston,  189^. 

Monatsber.  =  Monatsberichte  der  Koniglichen  Preussischen  Akademie 
der  Wissenschaften,  Berlin,  1881. 

Munro  =  Munro,  H.  A.  J. :  Criticisms  and  Elucidations  of  Catullus,  Cam- 
bridge, 1878. 

Nageotte  =  Nageotte,  E. :  Histoire  de  la  Poesie  Lyrique,  Paris,  1888- 


12  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

Nemethy  =  Albii  Tibulli  Carmina,  accedunt  Sulpiciae  Elegidia,  edidit, 
etc.,  Geyza  Nemethy,  Budapest,  1905. 

Nemethy,  Lyg.  =  Nemethy,  Geyza :  Lygdami  Carmina,  Budapest,  1906. 

Neue  =  Neue,  Friedrich :  Formenlehre  der  Lateinischen  Sprache,  3te 
Aufl.  von  C.  Wagener,  Berlin,  1892. 

Palmer  =  P.  Ovidi  Nasonis  Heroides,  edited  by  Arthur  Palmer,  Oxford, 
1898. 

PAPA.  =  Proceedings  of  the  American  Philological  Association. 

Pbillimore  =  Sexti  Properti  Carmina  recognovit  loannes  S.  Phillimore, 
Oxford,  1901. 

Phill.  Ind.  V.  =  Index  Verborum  Propertianus.  Fecit  loannes  S.  Philli- 
more, Oxford,  1905. 

Pichon  =  Pichon,  Rene  :  De  Sermone  Amatorio  apud  Latinos  Elegiarum 
Scriptores,  Paris,  1902. 

Platner  =  Platner,  Samuel  Ball :  The  Topography  and  Monuments  of  An- 
cient Rome,  Boston,  1904  (2d  ed.,  1911). 

Plessis  =  Plessis,  Frederic :  Etudes  critiques  sur  Properce  et  ses  elegies, 
Paris,  1884. 

Plessis,  Calvus  =  Calvus,  Edition  Complete  des  Fragments,  etc.,  par  F. 
Plessis,  Paris,  1896. 

Postgate  =  Postgate,  J.  P.  :  Tibulli  Aliorumque  Carminum  libri  tres, 
Oxford,  1905. 

Postgate,  Prop.  =  Select  Elegies  of  Propertius,  edited  by  J.  P.  Postgate, 
London,  1881. 

Postgate,  Sel.  =  Selections  from  Tibullus  and  others,  edited  by  J.  P.  Post- 
gate,  London,  1903. 

Preller'  =  Preller,  L. :  Romische  Mythologie,  Dritter  Auflage  von  H.  Jor- 
dan, Berlin,  1881. 

P.  W.  =  Pauly,  A.  F. :  Real-Encyclopaedie  d.  klass.  Altertumswissenschaft, 
rev.  by  G.  Wissowa,  Stuttgart,  1894. 

R.  =  Roby,  Henry  John :  A  Grammar  of  the  Latin  Language  from  Plautus 
to  Suetonius,  London,  1871-73. 

Ramsay  =  Selections  from  Tibullus  and  Propertius,  edited  by  George  G. 
Ramsay,  Oxford,  1900. 

Riese  =  Die  Gedichte  des  Catullus,  herausgegeben  u.  erklart  von  Alexan- 
der Riese,  Leipzig,  1884. 

Rothstein  =  Die  Elegien  des  Sextus  Propertius  erklart  von  Max  Roth- 
stein,  Berlin,  1898. 

Sandys  =  Sandys,  John  Edwin:  A  Companion  to  Latin  Studies,  Cam- 
bridge, 1910. 


ABBREVIATIONS  1 3 

Schanz  =  Schanz,  Martin  :    Geschichte  der  Romischen  Litteratur,  Munich, 

1890-1913. 
Schulze  =  Schulze,  K.  P. :    Romische  Elegiker :    eine  Auswahl  aus  Catull, 

Tibull,   Properz    und    Ovid,    fur   den    Schulgebrauch    bearbeitet,    5te 

Auflage,  Berlin,  1910. 
Schwabe  =  Catulli  Veronensis  Liber.      Ludovicus   Schwabius  recognovit, 

Berlin,  1886. 
Sellar  =  Sellar,  W.  Y. :  Horace  and  the  Elegiac  Poets,  Oxford,  1892. 
Sellar',  Rep.  =  Sellar,  W.  Y. :   The  Roman  Poets  of  the  Republic,  3d  ed., 

Oxford,  1905. 
Shuckburgh  =  P.  Ovidii  Nasonis    Heroidum    Epistulae  XIII,  edited  with 

notes  and  indices  by  Evelyn  S.  Shuckburgh,  London,  1879  (2d  edi- 
tion reprinted,  1896). 
Simpson  =  Select  Poems  of  Catullus,  ed.  by  Francis  P.  Simpson,  London, 

1879. 
Sitzungsber.  =  Sitzungsberichte  der  Koniglichen  Preussischen  Akademie 

der  Wissenschaften  zu  Berlin. 
Smith  =  The  Elegies  of  Albius  Tibullus,  edited  by  Kirby  Flower   Smith, 

New  York,  1913. 
Stolz-Schmalz  =  Stolz,  Friedrich,  und  Schmalz,  J.  H. :  Lateinische  Gram- 

matik    (Miiller's    Handbuch    der    klassischen    Altertumswissenschaft, 

II,  2),  3te  Aufl.,  Munich,  1900. 
TAPA.  =  Transactions  of  the  American  Philological  Association. 
Teuffel^  =  Teuffel,  W.  S. :  History  of  Roman  Literature,  5th  ed.,  trans,  by 

G.  C.  W.  Warr,  London,  1900. 
Uhlmann  =  Uhlmann,    Guilelmus :     De    Sex.    Properti    Genere    Dicendi, 

Borna,  1909. 
UUman  =  Ullman,  B.  L. :   The  Manuscripts  of  Propertius,  Class.  Phil.  VI, 

3,  282-301. 
Von  Sybel  =  Von  Sybel,  L. :  Weltgeschichte  d.  Kunst,  Marburg,  1888. 
Williams  =  WilHams,  Theodore    C. :    The    Elegies  of   Tibullus,  done   in 

English  Verse,  Boston,  1905. 
Wiss.  =  Wissowa,  Georg:    Religion  und  Kultus  der  Romer,  Munich,  1902. 
Wolff,  de  Enunt.  Int.  =  Wolff,  Oscar :   De  Enuntiatis  Interrogativis  apud 

Catullum,  TibuUum,  Propertium,  Leipzig,  1886. 


INTRODUCTION 

ELEGY 

1.  In  the  broad  sense  Latin  Elegy  may  be  said  to  include 
everything  in  Latin  written  in  the  elegiac  distich,  which  was  a 
popular  metrical  form  from  the  days  of  the  Roman  republic 
down  to  the  later  medieval  epoch.  But  Roman  elegy,  in  the 
more  restricted  and  commonly  accepted  use  of  the  term,  refers 
to  the  elegiac  verse  of  a  noteworthy  group  of  poets  whose 
literary  activity  belongs  chiefly  to  that  most  interesting  half 
century  of  Rome  preceding  the  Christian  era,  when  the  Republic 
fell  and  the  Empire  was  built  upon  its  ruins.  The  works  of  at 
least  two  or  three  of  these  elegiac  poets  have  almost  entirely 
disappeared.  Posterity,  however,  has  been  more  kind  to  four  of 
them,  Catullus,  TibuUus,  Propertius,  and  Ovidius  (Ovid).  The 
first  and  last  of  these  did  not  confine  their  literary  composition 
to  the  elegiac  distich,  as  in  all  probability  the  second  and  third 
of  the  group  did  ;  but  it  is  with  elegy  only  that  we  are  now  con- 
cerned. 

Pre-Roman  Elegy 

2.  Like  most  other  forms  of  Roman  literature,  elegy  is  deeply 
indebted  to  Greece  for  both  its  form  and  its  content,  though 
the  origin  of  this  type  of  poetry  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
literary  historian,  and  most  of  its  Greek  masterpieces  during 
the  centuries  succeeding  such  origin  have  long  since  vanished. 

Horace  {A.  P.  75-78)  wrote  :  — 

versibus  imp ar iter  iundis  guerimonia  primiim 
post  etiam  indiisa  est  voti  seiitentia  cotnpos  ; 
quis  tamen  exiguos  elegos  emiserit  auctor, 
grammatici  certant,  et  adhuc  sub  iudice  lis  est. 

15 


1 6  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

This  case  is  still  on  the  calendar,  and  doubtless  many  courts 
will  adjourn  sine  die  before  an  ultimate  decision  is  rendered. 
Perhaps  of  barbarian  origin,  the  rhythm  of  the  pentameter  was 

\certainly  used  in  early  Ionian  Asia  in  dirges  or  other  songs  of 
mournful  remembrance,  before  the  advent  of  the  earliest  writers 
of  the  elegy  as  a  literary  type.  The  regular  accompaniment  to 
these  early  songs  was  the  flute.  Possibly  two  parts  of  the  verse 
were  sung  responsively  by  a  double  chorus.^  The  original 
names  for  this  mournful  pentameter,  l\i.yCiov  {eiro<;),  eAcyeia  (Ittt;), 
have  been  variously  explained  as  derived  from  «  Ae'ye  c  Ae'ye  1  = 
'  Woe  !  Woe  !  cry  woe  ! '  (Suidas)  or  e  e  Ae'y'  e  e  Ae'ye  (Wilamo- 
witz) ;  but  from  the  beginning  it  was  probably  associated  with 
the  hexameter,  either  as  an  occasional  verse  after  a  group  of 
hexameters,  or  in  the  form  of  a  couplet,  and  the  terms  were  in 
early  times  used  also  to  designate  this  couplet,  or  distich.  The 
form  eAeyeta  (ttoii/o-is  or  <uS»/)  was  favored  later,  and  the  Hellen- 
istic Greeks  and  the  Romans  preferred  the  words  lAeyot  and 
e/egi  for  poems  in  this  measure.  (The  form  elogium,  which  ap- 
peared quite  early  in  Latin,  was  reserved  more  especially  for  the 
sepulchral  inscription  or  the  epigram.) 

]  3.  The  elegiac  distich,  apparently  the  first  epodic  Greek 
measure,  became  the  vehicle  of  expression  for  a  wide  variety  of 

,  poetic  sentiments,  varying  from  funeral  song  to  erotic  ecstasy. 
As  compared  with  the  hexameter  the  pentameter  was  considered 
weak  {mollis  was  the  Latin  epithet),  and  the  combination  of  the 

[two  seemed  to  lend  itself  more  easily  to  the  various  emotions  of 
the  human  heart,  leading  as  an  intermediate  step  to  the  more 
highly  developed  forms  of  lyric  poetry.  Archilochus  {floruit  c. 
650  B.C.),  to  whom  is  attributed  the  invention  of  other  poetic 
forms,  used  elegiac  verse  not  only  for  funeral  songs,  but  also  to 
treat  of  warlike  themes,  of  travel,  and  of  the  philosophy  of  life. 
The  Ephesian  Callinus,  an  older  contemporary  of  Archilochus, 
employed  the  same  metrical  form  for  patriotic  war  songs.  He 
was    long   credited   with   having   invented   the   measure  itself. 

iCi.  P.  W.  5,  2260  sqq. 


INTRODUCTION  I  / 

Tyrtaeus  likewise  sang  in  the  elegiac  measure  war  songs  to 
inspire  the  Lacedaemonians  in  the  second  Messenian  war. 
Simonides  (or  Semonides)  of  Amorgos  wrote  elegies  besides  his 
iambic  poems. 

4.  With  Mimnermus  of  Colophon,  towards  the  end  of  the 
seventh  century  B.C.,  an  important  innovation  appeared.  He  pro- 
duced not  only  war  songs,  like  his  predecessors,  but  also  a  book, 
or  books,  of  erotic  elegies,  celebrating  his  love  for  a  beautiful 
flute-playing  girl  named  Nanno.  Himself  a  flute  player  too,  he 
expresses  subjectively  the  sympathetic  passion  of  the  lover,  and 
mourns  over  the  swift  passing  of  youth  and  its  ardent  feelings. 
That  this  book,  which  he  called  Nanno  after  his  darUng,  occu- 
pied a  prominent  place  as  a  prototype  of  Roman  elegy  in 
general,  and  of  Propertius  and  his  Cynthia  book  in  particular, 
cannot  be  doubted.^ 

5.  From  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  great  period  of  Greek 
literature  elegy  was  popular  and  treated  a  great  variety  of  topics. 
Many  leaders  in  public  life  as  well  as  in  literature  wrote  elegy. 
Solon,  the  famous  lawgiver  of  Athens  {c.  638-559),  wrote  of 
political  and  ethical  subjects,  as  well  as  of  youthful  joys  and 
loves.  Demosthenes  in  his  speech  on  the  false  embassy  had 
part  of  an  elegy  of  Solon  read  to  the  court  in  support  of  his 
plea.  This  ethical,  or  gnomic,  elegy  is  represented  also  by  the 
rivals,  Phocylides  of  Miletus  and  Demodocus  of  Leros,  in  the 
sixth  century,  and  by  Theognis  of  Megara,  the  only  one  of  all 
these  early  Greek  elegists  whose  works  have  survived  to  our 
time  in  anything  like  completeness.  Theognis  belonged  to  the 
latter  half  of  this  century,  and  suffered  many  political  vicissi- 
tudes. There  was  an  elegy  of  his  (not  extant)  upon  the  citizens 
of  Syracuse  who  were  saved  in  the  siege  ;  and  we  have,  attributed 
to  him,  a  collection  of  wise  sayings  in  two  books,  including  many 
elegies  addressed  to  special  friends,  such  as  Simonides,  Clea- 
ristus,  and  Damocles,  and  especially  to  his  dear  young  friend 

iCf.  Prop.  I,  9,  11;  Wilamowitz  in  Sitzungsberichte  d.  Kgl.  Pr.  Akad.  d.  Wiss. 
1912,  pp.  100  sqq.  (reprint  with  additions  in  Sappho  u.  Simonides,  Berlin,  1913). 
ROM.    EL.    POETS  —  2 


1 8  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

Cyrnus.  In  many  cases  at  least  they  appear  to  have  been  first 
intended  to  be  sung  at  banquets,  and  were  only  later  prepared 
for  the  reading  public  without  musical  accompaniment.  Antim- 
achus,  Dionysius  Chalcus,  two  elegists  named  F-uenus,  of 
Paros,  and  Critias,  one  of  the  thirty  tyrants,  are  among  the 
many  names  of  elegists  during  this  period,  while  Plato  and 
Aristotle  dabbled  in  elegy  much  as  Cicero  did  in  hexameters, 
and  Pliny  in  erotic  verse. 

6.  Simonides  of  Ceos  (556-468  B.C.),  the  gifted  poet  whose 
talent  expressed  itself  in  so  many  forms,  did  not  neglect  the 
patriotic  idea,  composing  elegiac  verses  on  the  victories  of 
Marathon,  Salamis,  and  Plataea.  But  by  his  excellence  in 
threnetic  elegy,  including  certain  famous  epigrams,  he  did  much 
to  recall  the  original  mournful  character  of  the  measure  and  thus 
to  maintain  the  tradition  concerning  its  nature  which  has  sur- 
vived to  modern  times  in  the  significance  of  the  term  "  elegy."  ^ 
Finally,  Antimachus  of  Colophon,  who  flourished  about  400  B.C., 
paved  the  way  for  the  Alexandrian  school  of  elegy  by  his  learned 
manner.  This  appeared  indeed  in  his  epic  Thebais,  but  was 
especially  noteworthy  in  the  elaborate  elegy  in  which  he  under- 
took to  console  himself  for  the  death  of  his  darling  Lyde  by 
telling  in  rather  wearisome  detail  of  the  unhappy  loves  of  myth- 
ology, thus  creating  the  objective  erotic  type,  as  contrasted  with 
the  subjective  type  introduced  by  Mimnermus. 

7.  Among  the  famous  group  of  scholars  and  men  of  letters 
who  flourished  in  the  Alexandrian  epoch  elegy  and  elegiac 
epigram  were  the  most  highly  favored  and  developed  forms  of 
poetry.  The  prevalent  type  was  erotic.  Learning,  elaboration, 
and  technique,  rather  than  invention  or  emotion,  characterized 
the  Alexandrian  school,  thus  determining  to  an  important  degree 
elements  that  were  to  be  prominent  in  the  Roman  elegy,  whose 
immediate  model  it  was  to  become.     The  two  names  that  stand 

1  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  i,  38  :  Ceae  retractes  munera  neniae  ;  Cat.  38,  8  :  maestius  lac- 
rimis  Simonideis  ;  though  both  these  citations  probably  refer  more  especially  to  the 
lyric  threnodies  of  Simonides.     Cf.  Nageotte,  Vol.  2,  p.  132. 


INTRODUCTION  I9 

out  as  foremost,  at  least  in  the  esteem  of  posterity,  among  the 
Alexandrians  are  Callimachus  and  Philetas.^  It  is  clear,  how- 
ever, that  several  other  representatives  of  the  Alexandrian  school 
had  a  direct  and  important  influence  upon  Roman  elegy, 

8.  It  was  Philetas  of  Cos,  the  renowned  teacher  of  Ptolemy  II, 
as  well  as  of  Theocritus  and  Zenodotus,  of  whom  it  was  told 
that  in  his  devotion  to  study  he  became  so  thin  that  he  was 
obliged  to  wear  lead  in  his  shoes  to  prevent  the  wind  from  blow- 
ing him  away !  Yet  he  found  time  to  compose  merry  erotic 
elegies  (Tratyvta)  and  thus  to  immortalize  the  name  of  his  wife, 
or  mistress,  Bittis.^  Hermesianax  of  Colophon,  pupil  and  friend 
of  Philetas,  wrote  three  books  of  elegies,  chiefly  about  his  darling 
Leontion.  Phanocles  handled  the  theme  of  love  for  beautiful 
boys,  illustrating  from  the  legends  of  gods  and  heroes.  Eupho- 
rion,  born  in  Euboean  Chalcis  {c.  275  B.C.),  and  after  living  long 
at  Athens  transplanted  to  Alexandria  to  care  for  the  famous 
library,  although  a  peculiarly  ugly  personality  in  character  as  well 
as  in  figure,  wrote  voluminously  in  elegy  as  well  as  in  other  fields 
of  poetry.     It  was  he  whose  elegies  Gallus  translated  into  Latin. 

9.  Callimachus  {c.  310-240  B.C.),  the  most  celebrated  name 
in  the  Alexandrian  group,  came  from  the  Dorian  colony  of 
Cyrene,  and  after  studying  at  Athens  and  teaching  grammar  at 
Eleusis,  a  suburb  of  Alexandria,  was  put  in  charge  of  the  great 
library  of  the  Ptolemies.  He  is  said  to  have  left  behind  him 
eight  hundred  books  to  testify  of  his  learning  and  his  poetic 
skill.  His  elegies  are  the  most  famous  of  the  poetical  works, 
and  the  most  noted  of  them  was  the  Aifia,  in  four  books,  deal- 
ing with  the  origins  of  cities,  games,  religious  forms,  and  other 
phenomena.     The  extant  fragments  of  his  works  include  some 

'Or  Philitas,  cf.  Cronert  in  Hermes,  37(1902),  p.  212;  Bechtel  in  Genethliakon 
C.Robert  Ueberreicht,  p.  73;  Wilamowitz  in  Sitzungsberickte  d.  Kgl.  Pr.  Akad. 
d,  Wiss.  1912,  p.  no.  Cf.  Quint.  10,  i,  58:  cuius  [elegiae']  princeps  habetur  Cal- 
limachus, secundas  confessione  plurimorum  Philetas  occupavit ;  Prop.  3,  i,  i ;  Ovid, 
A.A.  3,  329:  sit  tibi  Callimachi,  sit  Cot  nota  poetae,  etc. 

2  Ovid,  Trist.  I,  6,  i:  nee  tantum  Clario  Lyde  dilecta  poetae,  nee  tantum  Coo 
Bittis  amata  suo  est ;  Ex  /*.  3,  i,  57  :  non  inferius  Coa  Bittide  nomen  habes. 


20  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

excellent  epigrams  and  hymns.  The  character  of  the  satiricai 
poem  Ibis  is  revealed  in  Ovid's  imitation  ;  and  the  Berenice's 
Hair  is  known  to  us  through  the  translation  of  Catullus  (No.  66). 
The  Aitia  furnished  the  model  for  the  aetiological  elegies  of 
Propertius,  who  was  otherwise  deeply  indebted  to  him,  and 
often  refers  to  him  as  his  direct  pattern.^  As  a  fine  example  of 
the  docfiis  poeta,  Callimachus  was  duly  appreciated  even  by  his 
Roman  imitators.^ 

10.  Among  the  many  other  Alexandrian  elegists  may  be 
mentioned  Alexander  the  Aetolian,  Poseidippus,  and  numerous 
epigrammatists,  including  Theocritus,  some  of  whose  epigrams 
have  survived  to  our  day.  Of  peculiar  interest  is  Parthenius 
of  Nicaea,  brought  to  Rome  in  b.c.  73  as  a  prisoner  taken  in 
the  war  with  Mithridates.  That  he  had  been  a  close  student  of 
the  Alexandrian  poets  is  evidenced  by  his  frequent  references 
to  them  as  his  authorities.  For  his  friend  the  promising  elegist 
Cornelius  Gallus  he  collected  'EpwrtKo,  na^»//AaTa  {The  Misfor- 
tunes of  Love)  in  prose.  This  tendency  towards  the  tragic  thus 
appearing  even  in  erotic  literature  is  seen  also  in  the  threnetic 
elegy  which  he  seems  especially  to  have  affected.  In  Naples 
he  was  the  teacher  of  Vergil,  and  the  pseudo-Vergilian  Moretiim 
was  an  imitation  of  his  Mvttwtos,  as  the  Ciris  was  of  one  of  his 
Metamorphoses. 

Roman  Elegy 

11.  Incalculable  as  is  the  debt  of  Roman  elegy  to  Greek 
elegy,  especially  that  of  the  Alexandrian  school,  as  well  as  to 
Greek  comedy  and  other  forms  of  Greek  literature,  it  must  not 
be  supposed  that  the  Roman  elegists  ^vere  merely  slavish  imi- 
tators, lacking  individual  genius  and  invention.  Rather  must 
it  be  acknowledged  by  candid  critics  that  Roman  elegy  developed 
into  an  independent  product,  covering  its  own  field  in  its  own 
way,  and  becoming  one  of  the  most  successful  and  justly  ap- 

1  E.g.  3,  I,  I ;  9,  43;  4,  I,  64:    Umbria  Romani  patria  Callimachi. 

2  Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  14:  quamvis  ingenio  non  valet,  arte  valet. 


INTRODUCTION  2 1 

predated  varieties  of  Roman  literature.  That  this  was  not  as 
well  appreciated  by  contemporary  Romans  themselves  as  by 
posterity  is  not  a  unique  literary  phenomenon.  We  must  beware 
of  accepting  as  the  sober  judgment  of  to-day  the  derogatory 
remarks  of  the  Romans  about  their  own  literature,  or  the  scoffs 
that  authors  then  threw  at  their  rivals.  Cicero  may,  indeed, 
when  it  happens  to  suit  his  argument,  say,  doctrina  Graecia  nos  et 
omni  litterarum  genere  superabat}  Vergil  may  in  his  great  epic 
conciliate  all  literary  parties  by  giving  them  severally  their  meed 
of  praise.^  Horace  may  sneer  at  the  Roman  disregard  of  poetic 
form  and  charge  his  own  generation  with  prefering  money  to 
culture.  But  similar  pessimism  is  familiar  in  every  day.  What 
poets  and  novelists  have  been  rightly  valued  in  their  own  time  ? 
Who  recognized  Shakespeare  as  the  dramatist  of  the  world 
while  Shakespeare  was  still  treading  the  boards  ?  Who,  when 
Milton  was  alive,  believed  Paradise  Lost  to  be  our  great  English 
epic  ?  How  many  of  the  contemporaries  of  Dante  supposed  that 
his  name  would  be  that  around  which  would  circle  the  whole 
idea  of  Italian  literature  ?  Who  listened  to  Edmund  Burke's 
speeches  ?  Circumstances  were  unfavorable  to  the  normal 
development  of  originality  in  Roman  literature  ;  but  in  satire, 
in  the  epistle,  in  didactic  poetry,  and  in  other  branches  of 
literature  the  Romans  worked  out  matchless  types  of  their  own. 
In  elegy,  too,  theirs  was  a  master  product,  which  surpassed  its 
pattern  and  achieved  a  style  and  beauty  all  its  own.  The 
subjectivity  of  genuine  personal  feeling  is  ultimately  happily 
wedded  to  the  objective  learning  of  Alexandria,  and  the  Roman 
atmosphere  pervades  the  whole.  As  Wilamowitz  ^  says :  '  The 
Roman  poets  of  the  brief  golden  age  .  .  .  sucked  the  finest 
education  of  taste  from  the  greatest  variety  of  flowers  ;  but  what 
they  produced  was  a  honey  of  their  own.  ...  So  Propertius 
and  Tibullus  became  creators  of  a  new  elegy.'  By  the  end  of 
the  first  Christian  century   this   began  to   be  realized  even   at 

1  Tusc.  Disp.  I,  I,  I.  '^  Aen.  6,  847  sqq. 

8  Sitzungsberichte  d.  Kgl.  Pr.  Akad.  d.  Wiss.  1912,  p.  122. 


22  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

Rome,  as  is  tersely  stated  by  the  foremost  critic  of  the  age, 
Quintilian  :  Elegia  qiioque  Graecos provocamus} 

12.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  Ennius,  whose  place  as  the 
father  of  RoTian  poetry  has  not  been  disputed  for  two  millen- 
niums, was  responsible  for  the  introduction  into  Latin  of  the 
elegiac  d'stich  as  well  as  the  heroic  hexameter.  The  three 
well-known  epigrams  included  among  the  fragments  of  his 
poetry  however,  are  the  only  indications  left  to  us  of  his  activ- 
ity in  the  field  of  elegy;  and  it  may  be  assumed  that  with  elegy 
of  the  Alexandrian  type  he  did  not  concern  himself.  Lucilius 
used  the  elegiac  distich  in  some  of  his  satires.  There  are  also 
traces  of  the  growth  in  popularity  of  the  erotic  epigram  of 
Alexandrian  form,  with  which  such  well-known  men  as  Valerius 
Aedituus,  Porcius  Licinus,  and  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus  amused 
themselves.^  Had  we,  further,  the  erotic  poems  of  Quinctius 
Atta,  Laevius,  Valerius  Cato,  and  Ticidas,  we  might  discover  in 
them  a  very  considerable  body  of  relatively  early  attempts  in 
elegiac  form,  whereas  at  present  we  know  little  of  the  metrical 
form  in  which  their  merry  trifling  was  cast.  How  pervasive 
was  the  tradition  that  serious  minds  might  well  relax  in  this 
manner  is  curiously  shown  by  Pliny  the  younger  in  his  apology 
for  his  own  course,^  where  he  quotes  as  his  examples  many  emi- 
nent names  from  Cicero  to  Verginius  Rufus  and  the  Caesars. 
And  though  Catullus  is  the  oldest  Roman  elegiac  writer  whose 
works  have  survived,  there  was  a  very  interesting  group  of  poets 
of  his  own  generation  who  tried  their  hand  at  this  literary  nov- 
elty, the  loss  of  whose  elegies  we  must  deeply  regret  as  depriv- 
ing us  of  important  evidence  with  regard  to  the  rise  and 
development  of  this  type  of  poetry  at  Rome.  Varro  Atacinus 
(82-37  B.C.),  whose  tastes  seem  to  have  been  well  fitted  for  his 


1  Inst.  Or.  10,  I,  93. 

2Gell.  19,  9, 10  :  versus  cecinit  Valert  Aeditut  veterts  poetae.  item  Porcti  Licini  et 
Q.  Catuli  quibus  mu7idius,  venustius,  limatius,  tersius,  Graecum  Latinumve  nihil 
quicquam  repeririputo. 

8  E-P-  5.  3.  5- 


INTRODUCTION  23 

tasks,  adapted  a  number  of  the  learned  epic  and  didactic  poems 
of  the  Alexandrian  school,  and  also  elegies  of  the  erotic 
type.^ 

C.  Licinius  Macer  Calvus  (82-47  B.C.),  the  intimate  friend 
of  Catullus,  excelled  as  orator  and  poet,  and  the  playful  rivalry 
of  the  two  boon  companions  in  composing  light  poetry  has  been 
celebrated  by  Catullus  himself  (No.  50).  Yet  through  the 
pranks  of  fortune  his  verses  have  been  reduced  practically  to 
the  vanishing  point.  For  the  fragments  see  Plessis,  Calvus. 
Like  Catullus,  he  wrote  erotic  elegies,  epigrams,  and  at  least  one 
famous  lament,  on  the  death  of  his  wife,  or  mistress,  Quintilia.^ 
C.  Valgius  Rufus  (consul  suffectus,  12  B.C.),  the  friend  of 
Horace,  bewailed,  presumably  in  elegiac  form,  the  death  of  his 
favorite   slave  boy  Mystes.' 

More  important  than  all  of  these  was  C.  Cornelius  Gallus 
(69-26  B.C.),  recognized  by  the  other  elegists  and  by  other 
literary  critics  as  properly  belonging  to  the  small  group  of 
leading  writers  in  this  field.''  Born  in  Gallia  Narbonensis,  at 
Forum  lulii  {Frejus),  he  achieved  at  a  comparatively  early 
age  an  enviable  position  in  the  military  and  social  life  of  Rome 

1  Quint.  10,  I,  87:  A f acinus  Varro  in  iis  per  quae  nomen  est  assecutus  interpres 
operis  alieni  non  spernendus  quidem  ;  Ovid,  Trist.  2,  439  :  is  quoqiie  Phasiacas 
Argon  qui  duxit  in  undas,  ?ion  potuit  Veneris  furta  tacere  suae ;  Prop.  2,  34, 
85  :  haec  quoque  perfecto  ludebat  lasone  I  ^arrc 

2  Ovid,  Tris/.  2,  431  :  par  fuit  exigui  siniilisque  licentia  Calvi,  detexit  variis  qui 
sua  furta  modis  ;  Prop.  2,  34,  89 :  haec  etiam  docti  confessa  est  pagina  Calvi,  cum 
caneret  miserae  funera  Quintiliae  ;  2,  25,  3  :  isfa  ineis  fict  notissima  forma  libellis, 
Calve  tuavenia, pace  Catullus  tua;  Suet,  /ulius  Caesar,  y^;  Cat.  96 ;   14. 

3  Hor.  Car.  2,  9,  9  :  tu  semper  urges  flebilihus  modis  Mysten  ademption  ;  ci.  Tib. 
4,  I,  179  •  est  tibi,  qui  possit  magnis  se  accingere  rebus,  I'algius :  aeterno propior 
non  alter  Ho?nero  ;  Serv.  on  Verg.  Ec.  7,  22  :  ut  Valgius  in  elegiis  suis  refert. 

■*  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  53  :  successor  fuit  hie  tibi,  Galle,  Propertius  illi ;  quartus 
ub  his  serie  temporis  ipse  fui  ;  5,  i,  17  :  aptior  huic  Gallus  blandique  Propertius  oris 
aptior,  ingeniuni  mite,  Tibullus  erit ;  A.  A.  3,333:  et  tcneri  possis  carmen  legisse 
Properti,  sive  aliquid  Galli,  sive,  Tibulle,  tuum  ;  Am.  3,  g,  63;  Quint.  10,  i,  93: 
Elegia  quoque  Graecos  provocamus,  cuius  tnihi  tersus  atque  elegans  maxime  videtur 
auctor  Tibullus  ;  sunt  qui  Propertium  malint.  Ovidius  utroque  lascivior,  sicut  durior 
Gallus.  That  this  epithet  must  refer  to  verse  construction  rather  than  lack  of  sen- 
timent is  clear  from  Ovid,  Rem.  Am.  765  :  quis  poterit  lecto  durus  discedere  Gallof 


24  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

through    his   abilities   and   his   personal   qualities   as   a  friend. 
Under  the  favor  of  Augustus  he  was  appointed  the  first  prefect 
of  Egypt  in  30   B.C.     Besides  the   intimacy  with  the   emperor 
he  enjoyed  also  that  with  other  leaders  in  the  literary  life  of 
his  day,   like   Asinius  Pollio  and  Vergil,  whose  tenth  Eclogue 
is   a   condolence    with   Gallus   for   his    unhappy   love    affairs.^ 
Tradition    also    has    it- — though    its    authenticity    is    seriously 
questioned  —  that  the  fourth  Georgic  originally  ended  with  a 
glorification     of     the     services     of     Gallus     in     Egypt,    which 
Vergil  felt  obliged  to  remove  after  the  fall  of  the  brilliant  pre- 
fect, and  then  substituted  the  less  relevant  story  of  Aristaeus. 
Too  great  prosperity  apparently  turned  the  head  of  Gallus,  and 
led    him    to   such    presumption    that   the   growing   disfavor  of 
Augustus,  fostered  probably  by  jealous  rivals,  was  followed  by  a 
decree  of  banishment.     Gallus,  unable  to  endure  the  disgrace, 
promptly  committed  suicide.     Besides  certain  translations  from 
Euphorion  he  wrote  four  books  of  elegies  on  Lycoris,  a  pseu- 
donym, after  the  manner  of  the  age,  for  his  beloved  Cytheris,  a 
celebrated  actress  whose  name  was  coupled  also  with  that  of  Mark 
Antony.'^     To  what   extent,   if  any,   the   "  durior "   style  of  his 
elegies  may  have  contributed  to  their  total  loss  it  is  impossible 
for  us  to  surmise.     The  direct  influence  of  Greek  elegy   upon 
his  work,  through  the  friendship  of  Parthenius,  has  been  men- 
tioned already  (§  10).     For  the  various  other  names  connected 
more  or  less  closely  with  elegy,  see  the  works  on  Roman  litera- 
ture by  Teuffel,  Schanz,  Duff,  etc.     The  prevailing  character  of 
all  this  body  of  literature  is  indicated  by  the  expression  of  Tacitus,' 
elegorum  lascivias. 

1  Cf.  Ec.  6,  64. 

2  Ovid,  Trist.  2,  445  :  non  fuit  opprobrio  celebrasse  Lycorida  Gallo,  sed  linguaiti 
nimio  non  tenuisse  mero  ;  A.  A.  3,  536  :  nomen  habet  Nemesis,  Cynthia  nomen  habet : 
vesper  et  eoae  novere  Lycorida  terrae ;  Prop.  2,  34,  91:  et  modo  formosa  gtiam 
multa  Lycoride  Gallus  mortuus  inferna  vulnera  lavit  aqua  !  The  fascinating  story 
of  Becker's  Gallus  is  based  throughout  on  classical  authority,  and  is  unsurpassed 
as  giving  a  word  picture  of  life  at  Rome  in  this  circle  of  society  under  Augustus, 

3  Dial.  10,  5. 


INTRODUCTION  25 

CATULLUS 

13.  The  first  Roman  elegist  whose  works  have  endured  to 
our  own  time  was  C.  Valerius  Catullus,  a  member  of  the  new 
group  of  poets  who  were  doing  so  much  to  establish  an  Alexan- 
drian school  of  poetry  at  Rome.  He  was  born  at  Verona,  the 
unsatisfactory  evidence  leaving  it  uncertain  whether  the  date 
was  87  or  84  B.C.  As  there  are  no  indications  that  any  of  his 
poems  were  written  later  than  54  B.C.,  and  all  signs  point  to  his 
early  death,  this  date  is  commonly  assumed  as  correct  for  that 
event.  His  family  and  circumstances  were  such  that  his  father 
entertained  Julius  Caesar,  the  governor  of  the  province,  and  he 
himself  possessed  country  estates  at  Sirmio  on  the  shores  of  the 
Lacus  Benacus,  and  at  or  near  Tibur,  the  most  aristocratic  of 
Rome's  suburban  resorts.'  He  was  able,  after  enjoying  in  boy- 
hood such  educational  privileges  as  Verona  afforded,  to  seek  as 
a  youth  in  Rome  a  wider  acquaintance  with  the  rather  giddy 
life  of  the  metropolis  in  that  period  of  political  and  social  unrest 
and  extravagance,  which  bred  a  Caesar,  a  Catiline,  and  a  Mamurra. 
His  studies  and  tastes  were  fostered  under  the  instruction  of  the 
well-known  grammarian  Valerius  Cato  (cf.  §  12),  where  he 
became  associated  with  the  literary  group  comprising  Helvius 
Cinna,  Licinius  Calvus,  Furius  Bibaculus,  Ticidas,  and  other 
well-known  poets  representing  the  newer  tendencies  of  the  day. 
With  an  ardent  and  impulsive  nature  and  the  enthusiasm  of 
young  manhood  he  threw  himself  impetuously  into  his  poetic 
studies  and  his  social  privileges  alike.  "  The  giddy  round  of 
his  life  is  reflected  in  the  constantly  altering  atmosphere  of  his 
poems.  Whispered  scandals,  nameless  vices,  the  gay  girls  of 
Pompey's  portico,  Caesar's  minions,  Egnatius,  like  Dickens's 
Mr.  Carker  showing  his  white  teeth  in  everlasting  smiles,  the 
Roman  cockney  so  suitably  named  Arrius  to  admit  of  his  super- 
fluous aspirates,  doltish  husbands  with  pretty  wives,  pilfering 

1  Carmina,  31  and  44. 


26  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

guests,  faithful  and  faithless  friends,  make  a  vivid  register  of 
human  nature  in  the  great  capital."' 

14.  It  was  in  this  gay  com.plex  of  life  at  Rome  that  he  met  his 
fate  in  the  person  who  was  within  a  few  brief  years  largely  to 
ruin  his  life  and  happiness  and  to  win  him  undying  fame  xnrough 
the  verses  she  drove  him  to  write.  There  is  no  longer  any  ques- 
tion that  this  wonderful  woman  —  amazing  in  her  powers  for  both 
good  and  ill  —  for  whom  the  poet's  significant  pseudonym  is 
Lesbia,  was  the  famous  and  unscrupulous  belle  of  Rome  in  her 
day,  Clodia,  sister  of  P.  Clodius  Pulcher,  and  wife  of  Q.  Metellus 
Celer.^  The  number  and  rank  of  her  lovers  (Catullus  in  a 
moment  of  petulance  calls  them  '  three  hundred !  ')  and  the 
epithets  Medea  Palatina,  ySowTri?,  and  quadrantaria,  as  well  as 
the  terrible  implication  of  Catullus's  own  epigram,^  when  taken 
together  with  the  revelation  of  her  as  a  captivating  charmer  and 
well-educated  lady  of  high  birth  rt'hich  is  seen  in  the  poems  of 
her  young  poet  adorer,  show  how  appropriate  the  name  Lesbia 
was  for  such  an  embodiment  of  luxuriant  physical  and  intellectual 
development.  With  a  poetic  appreciation  worthy  of  the  Lesbian 
Sappho,  she  was  naturally  flattered  by  the  devotion  of  the  bril- 
liant and  passionate  young  poet,  and  with  her  greater  sophisti- 
cation led  him  for  a  time  to  believe  that  he  was  her  only  idol.^ 
The  process  of  disillusioning  which  must  needs  soon  begin  was 
a  bitter  one,  and  the  successive  phases  of  his  love,  suspicion, 
jealousy,  hatred,  and  ultimate  disgust,  are  perfectly  mirrored  in 
the  frank  utterances  of  this  most  transparent  of  poets.* 

15.  Desire  to  escape  from  an  almost  intolerable  situation  and 

iDuff,  p.  313. 

2  Ovid,  Trist.  2,  427  :  sic  sua  lascivo  cantata  est  saepe  Catiillo  femina,  cui  falsum 
Lesbia  nomen  erat ;  Apul.  Apol.  10  :  aciusent  C.  Catullum,  quod  Lesbiam  pro  Clodia 
nominarit,  ef  Ticidam  similiter,  ijuod,  quae  Metella  erat,  Perillam  scripserit,  et 
Propertium,  qui  Cyntliiani  dicat,  Hostiam  dissimulet  et  Tibulluin,  quod  ei  sit  Plania 
in  aninto,  Delia  in  versu. 

379,1:  Leshius  est  pulcher :  quidnif  quern  Lesbia  iiialit  quamte  cum  tota  gente, 
Catulle,  tua. 

4 Cf.  No.  72.  5  Cf.  Sellar  3,  AV/.,  pp.  413  sq. 


INTRODUCTION  2^ 

a  wish  to  offer  the  last  tokens  of  respect  and  affection  at  the 
tomb  of  his  brother,  who  had  died  and  been  buried  in  the 
Troad,  were  among  the  motives  that  led  Catullus  to  seek  rec- 
reation and  other  scenes  by  joining  Cinna  as  a  member  of 
the  staff  of  C.  Memmius/  who  in  57  b.c.  went  to  Bithynia  as 
propraetor.  Restive  and  sad  as  he  was,  we  cannot  think  that 
he  waited  a  whole  year  more  to  perform  the  mournful  rites  at 
his  brother's  grave,  but  must  believe  that  he  visited  this  spot 
and  took  his  farewell  of  it  on  the  outward  journey  to  Bithynia. 
Even  if  we  discount  the  violent  expressions  of  disgust  for  his 
chief,  found  in  Nos.  10  and  28  of  the  Catullus  collection,  it 
is  clear  that  Memmius  was  no  help  or  inspiration  to  Catullus. 
Yet  the  year's  travel  and  novel  experiences,  including  some  con- 
tact with  Greek,  as  well  as  even  more  eastern  civilization,  did  not 
fail  to  leave  its  mark  upon  the  impressionable  poet :  his  "  Peleus 
and  Thetis  "  and  his  remarkable  "  Attis,"  e.g.^  probably  owe 
much  local  color,  and  perhaps  even  their  very  existence,  to  this 
sojourn. 

The  two  years,  more  or  less,  that  remained  for  Catullus  after 
his  joyous  home-coming  were  spent  partly  in  Verona  and  his 
favorite  Sirmio,  and  partly  in  Rome.  'They  were  years  of  storm 
and  stress.  There  were  new  alliances  with  men  and  women  ; 
old  hatreds  were  reopened.  The  growing  power  of  Caesar  and 
his  favorites  was  attacked  with  intense  bitterness  ;  but  a  recon- 
ciliation with  Caesar  as  the  friend  of  Catullus's  father  was  not 
long  in  forthcoming.  Clodia  thought  it  worth  her  while  to  make 
advances  toward  a  renewal  of  relations  with  one  whose  fortunes 
seemed  in  the  ascendant,  but  the  heart  of  the  poet  was  utterly 
steeled  against  her  forever.  Very  soon  the  career,  all  too 
short,  of  one  for  whom  the  best  in  life  seemed  perhaps  just 
about  to  open,  came  to  an  end,  with  only  a  verse  or  two  to 
indicate  final  weakness  and  gathering  gloom  before  the  lamp 
went  out. 

^  Probably  the  same  Memmius  to  whom  Lucretius,  the  other  great  poet  of  tni>- 
age,  dedicated  his  De  Rerum  Natura  ;  cf.  Lucr.  i,  a6  and  42. 


28  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

1 6.  Although  Ovid  does  not  inckide  Catullus  in  his  well- 
known  canon  of  the  Roman  elegists/  he  elsewhere  recognizes 
him  as  belonging  to  the  same  group  ^  and  Properlius^  names  as 
his  series  of  erotic  elegists,  Varro  Atacinus,  Catullus,  Calvus, 
Gallus,  and  himself/  If  there  was  any  reason  why  his  con- 
temporaries should  omit  Catullus  from  any  list  of  the  leading 
Roman  elegists,  it  was  doubtless  because  even  thus  early  it  was 
realized  that  it  was  the  rest  of  his  poems  rather  than  his  elegies 
that  formed  his  surest  title  to  immortality.  But  the  evidence  is 
clearly  ample  that  even  then  he  belonged  to  the  group  in  which 
the  logic  of  fate  has  confirmed  his  membership,  and  that  not 
mere  accident  has  from  the  time  of  the  renaissance  produced 
successive  editions  of  Catullus,  TibuUus,  and  Propertius.  If  in 
the  more  exact  use  of  terms  Catullus  is  a  greater  lyric  than 
elegiac  poet,  nevertheless  the  elegies  that  he  has  left  us  form 
an  invaluable  link  between  the  poetry  of  Alexandria  and  that  of 
Tibullus  and  Propertius.  Something  of  the  debt  owed  him 
directly  by  his  successors  in  the  field  of  elegy  will  be  seen  from 
a  study  of  the  selections  in  this  book.  The  genius  of  Horace 
led  him  mostly  in  other  lines,  so  that  his  literary  connection  with 
Catullus  is  relatively  slight.  Vergil,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
evidently  been  a  careful  student  of  Catullus,  as  is  clear  not 
merely  from  those  disputed  poems  of  the  so-called  Appendix 
Vergiliana,  but  from  many  parallels  in  his  certainly  authentic 
works. ^     And  in  Martial  reminiscences  of  Catullus  abound. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  influence  of  the  Alexandrian  school  is 

1  Successor  fuit  hie  [  Tibullus]  ttbi,  Galle,  Propertius  illi ;  quartus  ab  his  serie 
temper  is  ipse  fui. —  Trist.  4,  10,  53. 

2  E.g.  Am.  3,  9,  59-65 ;    Trist.  2,  427  sqq. 

3  2,  34,  85  sqq. 

■1  Propertius  nowhere  names  Tibullus,  though  he  surely  owed  much  to  him.  Cf. 
also  Mart.  8,  73,  8,  where  Catullus  is  grouped  with  Gallus,  Tibullus,  Propertius,  and 
Ovid. 

6  Cf.  E.  K.  Rand,  in  Harvard  Stud,  in  Class.  Phil.,  Vol.  17  (1906),  pp.  15  sqq. 
For  a  list  of  real  or  assumed  parallel  passages  in  the  Augustan  poets  cf.  Simpson, 
pp.  xxxvii  sqq.  For  a  list  of  authors  that  mention  or  cite  Catullus,  cf.  Schwabe, 
pp.  vii  sqq. 


INTRODUCTION  29 

nowhere  so  definite  and  obvious  in  Roman  poetry  as  in  Catullus. 
The  mere  fact  that  of  the  116  poems  in  the  extant  Catullus 
collection,  nearly  one  half  (Nos.  65-116)  are  in  the  elegiac  meter 
is  unique  in  a  poet  of  essentially  lyric  tastes  and  genius.  The 
forms  of  his  measure  constantly  betray  Alexandrian  influence 
(cf.  §§42,  43).  Not  merely  the  considerable  proportion  of  epi- 
grams and  the  subjects  of  various  elegies  but  also  the  wealth  of 
mythological  learning  displayed  in  such  poems  as  No.  68  show 
that  even  in  treating  a  matter  of  deep  personal  interest  he 
at  that  period  of  his  work  believed  it  necessary  to  assume 
the  Alexandrian  manner.  And  finally  the  translation  of  the 
Coma  Berenices  of  Callimachus  (No.  66)  brings  us  straight 
back  to  Alexandria  as  no  other  existing  poem  in  Latin  does. 
In  some  of  those  elegies  we  have  a  young  poet  trying  his  hand 
at  the  new  style  of  verse  just  imported ;  while  in  the  later 
elegists,  even  in  Propertius,  the  influence  of  their  models  is 
much  more  artfully  concealed,  if  indeed  it  is  ever  as  direct. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  first  60  (shorter)  poems  of 
the  Catullus  collection,  in  various  meters,  or  the  group  of  four 
longer  poems  (61-64) — the  two  epithalamia,  the  "  Attis  "  and 
the  epyllion  of  Peleus  and  Thetis,  which  precede  the  elegies  in 
the  existing  collection. 

17.  "Other  Roman  poets  have  produced  works  ot  more 
elaborate  composition,  and  have  shown  themselves  greater 
interpreters  of  nature  and  of  human  life :  none  have  expressed 
so  directly  and  truthfully  the  great  elemental  affections,  or  have 
uttered  with  such  vital  sincerity  the  happiness  or  the  pain  of  the 
passing  hour."^  The  fire  of  youth  burned  into  furious  love  or 
furious  hate,  according  to  the  fuel  of  the  hour.  Whether  he 
admires  a  beautiful  lake  or  a  beautiful  woman,  or  hates  a  vulgar 
society  villain,  the  language  of  Catullus  is  that  of  absolute  frank- 
ness —  a  frankness  sometimes  too  complete  for  our  tastes,  yet 
compelling  by  its  perfect  revelation  of  every  mood  and  tense  of 
the  writer.     It  is  therefore  natural  that  in  the  instrument  of 

ISellarS, /?^/>.,  p.436. 


30  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

such  expression  we  find  less  artificial  refinement  in  versification, 
a  closer  approximation  to  the  language  of  everyday  life,  and  a 
simplicity  of  expression  that  makes  his  language  usually  as 
transparent  as  his  thought.  The  diction  of  Catullus  has  been 
analyzed  by  Simpson/  who  shows  the  prominent  elements  in  it 
to  be  the  language  of  everyday  life  and  of  society,  a  well- 
developed  lover's  vocabulary,  a  remarkable  mastery  over  di- 
minutives with  their  varying  shades  of  meaning,^  some  archaisms 
and  contracted  forms,  some  new  descriptive  terms  coined  with 
a  poet's  facility,  and  an  abundance  of  inceptive,  frequentative, 
and  prepositionally-compounded  verbs.^  Some  of  these  features 
are,  however,  better  illustrated  elsewhere  than  in  the  elegies.* 
While  most  of  the  familiar  grammatical  and  rhetorical  figures 
are  amply  illustrated  in  Catullus,  his  skill  in  the  employment  of 
simile,  metaphor,  and  metonymy  is  especially  noteworthy.* 

1 8.  Since  Lachmann  in  1829  brought  out  his  epoch-making 
edition  of  Catullus,  basing  it  upon  two  Berlin  Mss.,  the  Datanus 
(D)  and  the  Laurentianus  (L),  both  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
great  progress  has  been  made  in  establishing  the  text  of 
this  author.  In  1830  the  Sangermanensis  (G),  No.  14137  of 
the  National  Library  at  Paris,  written  at  Verona  in  1375,  was 
described  by  J.  Sillig;  ®  and  in  1867  Robinson  Ellis  published 
the  Oxqniensis  (O),  No.  30  of  the  Canonici  Latin  Mss.  of  the 
Bodleian  Library.  In  1896  W.  G.  Hale  discovered  the  Ro- 
manus  (R)  in  the  Vatican  (Cod.  Ottob.  1829),  a  Ms.  which 
he  believes  to  be  of  about  the  same  age  as  G  and  O,  viz.,  the 
latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.'^  A  complete  collation  of  R 
has  not  yet  been  published.  Meanwhile  the  controversy  that 
has  arisen  over  the  relative  value  of  these  various  important 
Mss.  and  their  relation  to  a  lost  archetype  and  to  the  host  of 

1  Pp.  180  sqq.  2  cf.  Plainer  in  AJP.,  Vol.  i6  (1895),  p.  186. 

3  Index  verborum  in  Schwabe.  *  Cf.  Riese,  pp.  xxiv  sqq. 

6  Cf.  e.g.  No.  68,  vv.  53,  57,  63,  73,  109,  119,  125. 
^Jahrb.f.  Phil.,  Vol.  13  (1830),  pp.  261  sqq. 

7  Cf.  PAPA.,  Vol.  28  (1897),  p.  liii;  Class.  Rev.,  Vol.  20  ^1906),  p.  160;  Mag- 
ausin  BPW.,  Vol.  30  (1910),  p.  780;  etc. 


INTRODUCTION  3 1 

later  copies  from  one  source  or  another,  has  resulted  in  more 
diligent  search  for  Catullus  Mss.^ 

The  result  up  to  the  present  appears  to  be  that  our  text 
must  be  constituted  chietiy  on  the  three  Mss.,  O  G  R,  which 
are  all  derived  from  a  lost  Ms.,  V  (Veronensis),  which  was  seen 
by  Petrarch  and  other  scholars  of  his  day  ;  and  that  all  the 
other  existing  Mss.  were  derived  from  these.  O  may  have 
been  a  direct  copy  of  V  ;  G  and  R  were  copied  probably  from 
an  intervening  copy  of  V. 

19.  Besides  the  editions  of  Lachmann  (1S29)  and  Ellis  (1867 
and  1878)  before  mentioned,  the  most  important  editions  in 
modern  times  have  been  those  of  Haupt  (1853)  (published  with 
Tibullus  and  Propertius,  and  several  times  revised  by  Vahlen  — 
7th  ed.,  1912),  Schwabe  (1866  and  1886),  Baehrens  (1876; 
revised  by  K.  P.  Schulze,  1893),  Riese  (1884),  Merrill  (1893), 
the  large  commentary  of  Ellis  (1876)  and  his  later  Oxford  text 
(1904),  and  Friedrich  (1908).  The  editions  of  Baehrens, 
Schulze,  Riese,  Merrill,  and  J'riedrich  have  full  exegetical  com- 
mentaries. Several  of  the  most  important  elegies  are  annotated 
in  the  selections  made  by  Simpson,  Jacoby,  Schulze,  and  others  ; 
and  the  critical  and  epexegetical  activity  still  centered  upon 
Catullus  remains  unabated.  The  translations  by  Martin  (1861), 
Ellis  (1871),  and  Cornish  (1912)  deserve  mention. 

TIBULLUS 

20.  Although  at  first  sight  it  would  seem  that  we  have  a  con- 
siderable body  of  valuable  data  for  the  life  of  Tibullus,  careful 
sifting  of  the  authorities  makes  these  sources  appear  rather 
sterile.  At  the  end  of  the  Mss.  is  a  brief  epigram  attributed  to 
Domitms    Marsus,  as  follows  :  — 

Te  quoqiie  Vergilio  com  item  non  aeqiia,  Tibiille, 
mors  wve?iem  campos  misit  ad  £Iysios, 

neforet,  aut  elegis  moUes  qui Jieret  afnores 
aut  caneret  forti  regia  bella  pede. 

1  Cf.  Class.  Phil.,  Vol.  3  (1908),  p.  233. 


32  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

The  Mss.  also  include  a  short  vita,  which  has  been  uncon- 
vincingly  attributed  to  Suetonius.^  The  text  of  this  vita  is 
plainly  corrupt,^  and  some  of  its  statements  are  hardly  intel- 
ligible (e.g.  eques  regalis),  and  others  quite  unsatisfactory 
(e.g.  militaribus  donis  donatus  est,  which  is  out  of  harmony 
with  the  character  of  the  poet,  so  far  as  revealed  in  his 
elegies).  Perhaps  some  of  the  statements  were  invented  from 
the  elegies.^  Both  the  epigram  and  the  vita  are  believed 
to  have  been  in  the  archetype  of  our  Mss.''  A  longer  vita  ^  is 
evidently  the  work  of  a  comparatively  late  hand  and  has  little 
worth.  The  testimony  of  classical  writers,  especially  Ovid,  to 
certain  features  of  the  life,  work,  and  character  of  Tibullus,  is 
important  so  far  as  it  goes.^  Even  more  valuable  than  all  these 
are  the  few  allusions  to  his  life  found  in  the  poet's  own  writings. 

2  1.  From  a  judicious  use  of  this  material  it  is  safe  to  draw 
the  following  conclusions.  The  poet's  name  was  Albius  Tibullus, 
no  praenomen  being  known. ^  The  end  of  his  life  came  at  about 
the  same  time  as  that  of  Vergil,  who  died,  we  know,  September 
21, 19  B.C.*  As  the  only  definite  statement  that  could  be  used  to 
determine  the  date  of  his  birth  (3,  5,  17)  evidently  applies  not  to 
Tibullus  himself,  but  to  Lygdamus  (cf.  §  25),  we  are  forced  to 
resort  to  conjecture,  which  has  commonly  accepted  c;4  b.c.  as  a 
probable  approximation  to  the  truth.  The  editor's  reasons  for 
believing  this  too  early  (as  given  in  PAPA.,  Vol.  32  (1901), 
pp.  cxxxvii-cxxxviii)  are  that  it  would  make  Tibullus  relatively 
too  old  a  man  while  he  was  engaged  in  writing  elegies  ;  that  he 
would  have  been  likely  to  go  on  an  expedition  like  the  Aquita- 
nian  campaign  (31   B.C.)  soon  after  assuming  the  manly  toga, 

1  Baehrens,  Tib.  BL,  p.  6. 

2  For  two  forms  of  it  cf.  Baehrens,  Tib.  BL,  p.  5,  and  Hiller,  p.  60, 

3  Cf.  Magnus  in  Bursian's //?.,  Vol.  51  (1887),  p.  340. 
*  Cf.  Hiller  in  Hermes,  Vol.  18  (1883),  pp.  349  sqq. 

6  Cf.  Dissen,  Vol.  i,  p.  x. 

•»  The  references  are  collected  in  Hiller,  pp.  xx-xxiv. 

7  He  never  speaks  of  himself  by  any  other  name  than  Tibullus;  cf.  I,  3,  55-, 
I,  9,  83  ;  4,  13,  13. 

8  Cf.  the  epigram  of  Marsus,  and  Ovid,  Trisi.  4,  10,  51. 


INTRODUCTION  33 

i.e.  at  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  according  to  Roman 
custom  ;  that  the  smallness  of  the  amount  of  his  poetr}^  would 
be  difficult  to  explain  if  he  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  ;  and 
that  his  being  confused  with  Lygdamus  would  have  been  more 
natural  if  he  were  himself  more  nearly  of  the  age  of  Lygdamus 
(b.  4.^  B.C.).  In  view  of  these  considerations  \2>JB.c  seems  a  not 
unreasonable  conjectural  date  to  assign  for  the  birth  of  Tibullus. 
22.  Whether  or  not  the  statement  that  he  was  of  equestrian 
rank  is  founded  on  fact,  it  is  clear  from  various  passages  in  his 
elegies  that  he  was  of  respectable  family,  and  comfortably 
endowed,  although  he  had  lost  part  of  his  ancestral  estates,  per- 
haps through  confiscations  similar  to  those  suffered  by  Vergil.^ 
Horace,  in  Epistle  i,  4,  which,  there  seems  no  good  reason  to 
doubt,  refers  to  this  Albius,"  says  that  the  gods  had  blessed 
Tibullus  with  wealth,  beauty,  and  the  art  of  enjoying  life,  and 
indicates  that  his  home  was  in  the  district  of  Pedum,  which 
was  in  Latium,  not  very  far  from  Praeneste.  The  indications 
also  are  that  he  lost  his  father  quite  early  but  was  survived  by 
his  mother  and  a  sister.^  Much  weight  in  determining  the  poet's 
character  and  station  must  be  given  to  the  long  intimacy  between 
Tibullus  and  Messalla,  the  orator,  statesman,  warrior,  litterateur, 
and  trusted  councilor  of  Augustus.  It  is  not  clear  just  when 
Messalla  began  to  realize  the  qualities  of  the  poet  and  foster  an 
acquaintance  that  made  Tibullus  the  central  figure  of  the 
literary  group  that  gathered  around  this  accomplished  patron  of 
polite  letters.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  tastes  of  Tibullus 
led  him  while  getting  an  education  at  Rome  into  close  touch 
with  Horace,  among  others,  that  the  older  poet  introduced  him 
to  Messalla  not  long  before  the  battle  of  Actium,  and  that  the 
last  elegy  of  the  first  book  was  written  about  this  time.  Vergil 
must  at  least  have  been  known  and  admired  by  Tibullus.'' 

iCf.  I,  I,  19,  41,  imdyy;   2,  4,  53,  etc. 

2  Cf.   Ullman    in   AJP.,    Vol.    33    (1912),    pp.    149   sqq.,   and    the    rejoinders, 
pp.  450  sqq. 

^  Cf.  I,  3,  5  ;  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  50.  ^  Cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  39  sqq. 

ROM.  EL.  I'OICIS  —  ; 


34  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

23.  At  any  rate,  when  after  Actium  Messalla  was  sent  to 
Aquitania  by  Augustus,  the  young  poet  went  with  him  to  get 
his  first  taste  of  mihtary  Ufe.^  After  that  brief  campaign  he 
started  with  Messalla  for  the  east,  but,  seized  with  a  serious  ill- 
ness, was  necessarily  left  behind  on  the  island  of  Corcyra,  his 
life  trembling  in  the  balance.  These  circumstances  furnish  the 
occasion  of  the  earliest  elegy  which  we  can  date  with  any  cer- 
tainty (i,  3),  which  was  accordingly  written  in  30  B.C.,  perhaps 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer.  This  ended  the  military 
experiences  of  the  poet,^  who  returned,  as  soon  as  health  per- 
mitted, to  his  estate  in  the  country,  there  to  spend,  apparently, 
most  of  the  rest  of  his  life.  Certainly  we  have  no  indications 
that  he  took  any  prominent  part  in  public  affairs,  although  he 
was  doubtless  ever  and  anon  in  the  city  on  occasions  of  special 
interest.^  His  tastes  were  gentle,  he  preferred  the  quiet  of  the 
fields  to  the  excitement  of  the  city ;  and  for  the  remaining  ten 
years  of  his  life  we  can  easily  picture  him  enjoying  the  regio 
Pedana,  surrounded  by  a  small  circle  of  close  friends,  and  fre- 
quently visiting  his  patron,  Messalla,  in  town,  where  he  was  wel- 
comed as  the  most  gifted  member  of  Messalla's  select  coterie.'' 

24.  Prominent  members  of  this  circle  of  friends  were  Sul- 
picia,^  probably  a  niece  of  Messalla  and  daughter  of  Servius 
Sulpicius  Rufus,  Cornutus,  probably  another  member  of  the 
same  Sulpician  family,*^  and  Macer,^  all  of  whom  were  destined 
to  play  a  part  in  the  collection  of  elegies  bearing  the  name 
of  Tibullus.  But  a  far  more  important  influence  in  determining 
the  character  of  his  poetry  was  exerted  by  the  several  persons, 
probably  all  of  a  lower  rank,  for  whom  he  formed  successive 

1  There  is  still  controversy  over  the  date  of  the  Aquitanian  Expedition;  for  a 
review  of  the  case  cf.  Hiller  in  BPIV.,  Vol.  8  (1888),  Sp.  808;  R.  Schultz, 
Quaestiones  in   Tibiilli  Librum  I.  Chronologicae,  pp.  7  sqq. 

2  For  another  view  cf.  Bell.,  pp.  181  sqq. 

sCf.  1,7;  2,5- 

^For  charming  fancy  pictures  of  his  home  life  at  Pedum,  cf.  Martinengo, 
pp.  144  sqq. ;  Champney,  Chap.  I. 

5  Cf.  4,  2.  6  Cf.  2,  2,  Intr.  1  Cf.  2,  6,  1.  n. 


INTRODUCTION  35 

attachments.  The  first  of  these,  upon  whom  he  lavished  his 
fresh  poetic  vows  of  undying  affection,  was  a  lad)-  named 
Plania  (cf.  §  14),  whom  Tibullus  called  Delia,  doubtless  be- 
cause ^Xo'i  =  planus,  and  at  the  same  time  suggests  her 
qualities  as  an  inspirer  of  poetry,  from  the  divine  pair  born 
at  Delos.  Delia's  standing  is  somewhat  obscure.  She  was 
hardly  a  patrician,  although  the  suggestion  has  been  made 
that  she  was  identical  with  Sulpicia.^  Neither  is  it  clear  that 
she  was  a  libertina.  Probably  a  plebeian,  she  seems  to  have 
occupied  a  dubious  position.  She  had  a  mother  living.^  Either 
this  mother  or  some  other  chaperon  is  characterized  as  anus^ 
and  again  as  Icna.*  We  hear  also  of  a  coniunx,^  but  in  ex- 
actly what  sense  the  word  is  used  is  not  easy  to  decide.  For 
several  years,  beginning  about  the  time  when  he  first  went 
away  to  the  wars,  Tibullus  was  her  devoted,  but  not  very  suc- 
cessful, lover;  and  her  figure  dominates  the  first  book  of  the 
elegies.  To  divert  his  attention  from  her  fickleness  the  poet 
was  for  a  short  period  deeply  interested  in  a  pretty  boy  whom 
he  calls  Marathus,  and  who  corresponds  to  the  Juventius  whom 
Catullus  has  made  famous.  A  second  lady  love  was  called  by 
the  significant  name  of  Nemesis,  though  in  exactly  what  sense 
she  was  to  Tibullus  as  an  avenging  goddess  is  open  to  question. 
Certain  it  is  that  his  passionate  love  for  her  met  with  but  a 
poor  response.  Moreover,  she  was  avaricious,  and  another  lena 
appears  as  her  guardian.*^  This  attachment  did  not  last  as  long 
as  that  to  Delia,  and  the  poet  probably  lived  to  publish  his  sec- 
ond book,  of  which  she  is  the  central  theme,  before  his  sorrows 
and  his  frail  constitution  brought  him  to  an  early  death.  The 
Glycera  mentioned  by  Horace  {Car.  i,  2>3)  as  faithless  to  Albius 
may  be  set  down  as  another  flame  of  Tibullus,  as  she  cannot  be 
identified  with  either  Delia  or  Nemesis. 

25.    Besides   the    Delia    book    and    the    Nemesis   book,   the 
Tibullus  collection  as  it  has  been  handed  down  to  us  contains, 

1  Champney,  Chap.  I.  3  i_  3,  84.  ^  i,  2,  41. 

2  I,  6.  57.  4  I,  s„  48.  6  Cf.  2,  6,  44. 


36  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

in  addition  to  a  hexameter  paneg}Tic  on  Messalla,  a  number  of 
other  elegies,  some  of  which  are  evidently  not  the  work  of 
Tibullus,  while  controversy  as  to  the  authorship  of  the  rest  has 
not  ceased  to  rage.  For  convenience  this  group  of  poems  has 
long  since  been  divided  into  a  third  and  fourth  book  of  the 
Tibullus  collection,  an  arrangement  which  practical  considera- 
tions have  led  the  present  editor  to  maintain.  The  third  book 
is  evidently  the  work  of  an  unknown  poet  who  calls  himself 
Lygdamus,  and  who  sings  especially  of  his  love  for  a  Neaera. 
While  critics  are  pretty  generally  agreed  ^  that  the  work  of 
Lygdamus  is  in  manner,  meter,  and  thought  inferior  to  the  gen- 
uine work  of  Tibullus,^  a  wide  diversity  of  views  has  been 
expressed  with  regard  to  the  personality  of  the  author.  Plessis 
thinks  he  was  the  older  brother  of  Ovid,  while  their  somewhat 
trifling  and  cold-blooded  manner  suggests  even  the  possibility 
that  these  poems  might  have  been  a  youthful  work  of  Ovid 
himself.  The  many  parallels  between  Lygdamus  and  Ovid  in 
language  might  be  taken  in  confirmation  of  this  hypothesis,^  and 
especially  the  identity  of  statement  as  regards  the  birth  of  the 
'two  occurring  in  Tib.  3,  5,  18,  and  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  6:  cum 
cecidit  fato  consul  iiterqiie  pari,  referring  to  the  death  of  both 
Hirtius  and  Pansa  in  battle  in  43  b.c.^  But  Propertius  also 
has  many  parallels  with  both  Tibullus  and  Ovid,*  and  this  line 
of  argument  is  inconclusive.  Lygdamus  may  have  imitated 
Ovid,  or  Ovid  have  copied  Lygdamus,  or  both  have  used  a  com- 
mon original.  Several  other  interesting  identifications  have 
been  suggested.*'     The  question  as  to  whether  Lygdamus  lived 

1  Cf.  Dissen,  Vol.  2,  p.  324 ;   Postgate,  Sel.,  pp.  xliii  sqq. 

2  For  a  contrary  view  cf.  Cranstoun,  p.  xxi. 

3  Cf.  Hiller  in  Hermes,  Vol.  18  (1883),  p.  356,  who  believes  Lygdamus  to  have 
been  a  contemporary  of  Ovid  and  to  have  added  3,  5,  15-20  at  a  later  time  to  his 
own  elegy. 

■*  Cf.  Gruppe,  pp.  127-143  ;  Kleemann  :  De  libri  tertii  carminibus  quae  Tibulli 
nomine  circtimferiintur. 

5  Cf.  Burger  in  Hermes,  Vol.  40  (1905),  pp.  321  sqq. 

8  Cf.  Magnus  in  Bursian's  JB.,  Vol.  51  (1887),  p.  340;  Lamarre,  Vol.  2,  pp.  482- 
483- 


INTRODUCTION  37 

before  Ovid  or  after  him  is  still  unsettled.^  So  is  the  problem 
as  to  whether  his  name  is  a  real  one  or  a  pseudonym  referring 
to  the  first  name  of  Tibullus,^  cunningly  devised  to  lend  coun- 
tenance to  the  place  of  these  elegies  in  the  Tibulkis  collection. 
But  a  most  reasonable  explanation  of  the  existing  Tibullus  col- 
lection would  appear  to  be  that  all  of  the  poems  in  it  were  writ- 
ten by  members  of  the  Messalla  circle,  and  were  sooner  or  later 
published  together  on  that  account.  One  theory  is  that  Lygda- 
mus  may  have  been  the  editor.  Certain  indications  of  language 
and  style  argue  that  he  was  not  a  native  Roman,  and  may  have 
been  a  learned  freedman.'' 

26.  The  fourth  book  opens  with  a  panegyric  on  Messalla, 
which  is  so  crude  that  it  is  generally  agreed  that,  whatever  ad- 
herent of  that  munificent  patron  was  guilty  of  its  composition, 
we  must  not  lay  it  to  the  charge  of  Tibullus.  (N^methy  thinks 
it  a  youthful  effusion  of  I^ropertius !)  The  next  five  poems  are 
short  elegies  dealing  with  the  love  of  Sulpicia  and  one  Cerinthus.* 
In  spite  of  all  arguments  to  the  contrary^  no  adequate  considera- 
tions seem  to  have  been  advanced  to  remove  them  from  the  list 
of  TibuUus's  own  composition,  and  the  parallels  with  his  other 
writings  (cf.  N^methy,  pp.  334-335)  and  general  tone  of  these 
little  elegies  make  strongly  for  their  genuineness.  They  are 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  "  Garland  of  Sulpicia."  The  follow- 
ing six  little  elegies  (4,  7  to  4,  12,  inclusive^),  sometimes  called 
Ekgidia  like  the  preceding  group,  are  evidently  the  work  of 
Sulpicia  herself,  and  are  very  interesting  and  unique  in  Roman 
literature  as  the  work  of  a  woman.     They  betray  a  warmth  of 

1  Marx  in  P.  W.,  i,  1327,  dates  the  origin  of  the  Tibullus  collection  between 
'I'iljerius  and  Domitian. 
-  Cf.  Xiy75os  and  albus. 

3  But  cf.  Nemethy,  Lyg.,  p.  29  ;  Marx  in  P.  W.,  i,  1325. 
4Cf.  4,  2,  Intr. 

5  E.g.  Burger  in  Hermes,  Vol.  40  (1905),  \).  333;  Postgate  in  Class.  Rev.,  Vol.  9 
(1895),  p.  77. 

6  Butcf.  Magnus  in  Bursian's //y.,  Vol.  51  (1887),  pp.  262-263,  for  the  view  that 
No.  7  belongs  to  the  preceding  "  Garland." 


323351 


38  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

feeling  and  a  certain  disregard  of  conventionalities  that  are  note- 
worthy, and  probably  significant  of  the  social  tendencies  of  the 
day.  The  last  two  poems  of  the  collection  (4,  13  and  14)  are 
of  indeterminate  authorship,  but  may  be  ascribed  to  Tibullus.' 
A  couple  of  Priapea  ascribed  to  TibuUus  are  of  doubtful  authen- 
ticity.^ 

27.    Tibullus,    the   country    gentleman,    was    a    gentle    man. 
Even  in  his  bitterest  disappointment  as  a  lover  he  could  sing  :  ■'' — 

'  Thy  sorrows  let  me  not  unseal ! 
I  am  not  worth  that  thou  shoulilst  lose  a  smile, 
Nor  that  th'  expressive  light  thine  eyes  reveal 

A  single  bitter  tear-drop  should  defile."      (Williams.) 

The  subjective  value  of  love  he  could  try  to  reveal  to  heartless 
Nemesis  thus  :  ■*  — ■ 

'This  whole  year  have  I  lain 
Wounded  to  death,  yet  cherishing  the  pain, 
And  counting  my  delicious  anguish  gain.'     {Ibid.') 

And  even  for  the  sister  of  his  cruel  mistress  —  that  sister  who  had 
come  so  sadly  to  an  early  grave  —  he  wept  affection's  tears  :  ^  — 

'and,  as  my  sorrow  flows, 
Unto  that  voiceless  dust  my  grief  confide.'      {Ibid.) 

Not  that  he  habitually  sits  beneath  the  cypress !  His  sym- 
pathetic nature  leads  him  to  join  enthusiastically  in  the  joy  of 
his  friends,  whether  at  some  special  occasion  like  the  triumph  of 
Messalla  (i,  7)  or  the  installation  of  Messalinus  into  the  college 
of  the  Quindecimviri  (2,  5),  or  at  one  of  the  regularly  recurring 
festivals  like  the  Ambarvalia  (2,  i).  He  shares  in  the  simple 
pleasures  of  the  home-born  slaves  (2,  i,  23),  encourages  the 
merry  games  of  the  rustics  (2,  5,  83  sqq.),  and  has  a  word  of  in- 
dulgence for  the  swain  who  goes  home  "  right  mellow,"  not  for- 

iPostgate  {Sel.,  pp.  191-199)  makes  an  elaborate  argument  against  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  former. 

2Cf.  Hiller  in  Hermes,  Vol.  18  (1885),  pp.  343  sqq.;  Teuffel  5,  254,  5. 
82,6,41.  42,5,109.  ^2,6,33. 


INTRODUCTION  39 

getting  to  plead  for  gentleness  towards  the  fair  ones  who  might 
suffer  rudeness  from  such  a  lover  (i,  lo,  51  sqq.).  And  while  the 
course  of  his  own  love  fails  to  run  smoothly,  he  can  express  a 
generous  wish  for  better  luck  to  his  more  fortunate  friends  (2,  2). 
More  than  this,  TibuUus  prefers  the  quiet  and  gentle  life  and 
loves  the  peaceful  world  of  nature  best.  "  No  other  poet,  with 
the  exception  of  Vergil,  is  so  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  Italy,  the 
love  of  the  country  and  of  the  labor  of  the  fields,  and  the  piety 
associated  with  that  sentiment."  ^  It  is  natural,  therefore,  for 
him  to  express  these  primitive  sentiments  of  love  of  home  and 
friends  and  native  land,  of  reverence  for  his  gods  and  devo- 
tion to  the  scenes  where  these  rustic  divinities  especially  held 
sway,  with  a  simplicity  and  directness  that  are  worthy  of  his 
themes.  That  he  was  master  of  his  art.  to  be  sure,  has  come 
to  be  generally  recognized ;  and  this  was  the  same  art  that 
had  produced  the  Alexandrian  elegy.  But  no  poet  has  suc- 
ceeded better  in  exemplifying  the  dictum  that  the  highest  art 
consists  in  the  concealment  of  art.  He  never  obtrudes  his 
learning  upon  the  reader,  as  Propertius  did,  and  in  spite  of 
many  attempts  to  show  a  highly  artificial  structure  in  his  elegies, 
the  most  patent  fact  about  them  is  their  utterly  natural  flow 
of  a  perfectly  simple  thought,  oft-repeated,  after  the  manner  of 
one  absorbed  in  the  genuineness  of  his  feeling.^  The  deliberate 
estimate  of  the  master  Quintilian  (10,  i,  93),  mihi  tersus  atque 
elegans  maxime  vidctnr  auctor  Tibt/I/ns,  is  confirmed  by  the  sober 
judgment  of  the  present  day.''  The  relative  merit  of  good  poets 
is  like  that  of  oysters,  a  matter  of  taste.  If  one  is  bent  on  a  fat 
capon,  nothing  else  suits  him.  Within  his  field  it  is  rash  to 
assert  that  TibuUus  is  a  second-rate  poet,  who  just  missed  great- 
ness. His  wonderfully  pure  Latinity,  in  the  Augustan  age,  his 
perfection   in   handling  the  elegiac  distich,  and   his  success  in 

1  Sellar,  p.  239.     For  TibuUus  as  a  poet  of  nature  cf.  K.  P.  H.  in  PAPA.,  Vol.31 
(1900),  pp.  xxxiv-xxxix;  Geikie,  pp.  85-86,  et passim. 

2  Cf.  PAPA.,  Vol.  26  (1895),  pp.  v-viii. 

3  Cf.  Kirby  F.  Smith  in  Johns  Hopkins  Univ.  Circular  No.  6  (1910),  pp.  26-31. 


40  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

touching  the  human  heart  with  a  gentle  sympathy  place  him 
among  the  masters  of  his  art. 

28.  The  means  by  which  Tibullus  achieved  this  result  seem 
to  have  been  relatively  simple  and  direct ;  but  no  poet  has  been 
more  successful  in  clearing  away  the  rubbish  of  his  workshop, 
so  that  we  cannot  be  sure  that  we  are  entirely  acquainted  with 
his  methods.  That  he  had  studied  the  earlier  Greek,  as  well  as 
the  Alexandrian,  models  we  cannot  doubt.  While  we  are  not 
warranted  in  pressing  too  far  our  zeal  to  discover  traces  of  elab- 
orate symmetry  in  the  composition  of  the  elegies,  traces  of  such 
symmetry  appear.^  Though  it  is  impossible  to  discover  all  of 
the  intimate  connections  with  the  Greek  comedy,  the  earlier 
elegy,  the  pastoral  of  Theocritus,  the  leading  Alexandrian 
elegists,  and  the  lost  elegies  of  Gallus,  the  debt  of  Tibullus  to 
these  predecessors  w^as  certainly  a  heavy  one.  Neither  is  it 
possible  to  estimate  accurately  the  mutual  indebtedness  of  the 
practically  contemporary  poets,  Tibullus,  Propertius,  and  Ovid.^ 
But  whatever  the  sources  of  Tibullus  may  have  been,  he  used 
them  so  as  to  manifest  a  simple  diction,  a  syntax  essentially 
without  individuality,  a  modest  use  of  figurative  language,  and 
in  the  choice  of  expressions  a  taste  that  almost  uniformly  attains 
the  elegant.''  His  tendency  to  repeat  words  and  expressions,  to 
postpone  an  epithet  and  to  postpone  -que,  his  scrupulous  prefer- 
ence for  the  forms  at,  seu,  neu,  7iec,  for  sic  rather  than  ita,  nam 
rather  than  enim,  his  care  in  the  forms  of  declension,  his  avoidance 
of  forms  belonging  properly  to  the  sermo  cottidianiis,  his  slight 
use  of  diminutives,  and  his  skill  in  placing  words  are  among  the 
palpable  qualities  of  his  style."*     Such  poems  as  2,5  illustrate  the 

1  Cf.  Bell.,  p.  293;  P.  W.,  Vol.  5,  pp.  2291  sqq. ;  Bubendey,  Die  Symmetrie  der 
romiscken  Elegie. 

2  Cf.  Hiller  in  Rh.  Mus.,^o\.  60  (1905),  pp.  38-105;  Skutsch,  Aus  Vergih 
Fruhzeit,  passim  ;  Cartault,  Chap.  IV;  Jacoby  in  BPW.,  Vol.  29  (1909),  Sp.  1464; 
Richard  Burger  in  Bursian's //?.,  Vol.  153  (1911),  pp.  135-144. 

8  Index  verhorum  in  Hiller. 

^  Cf.  Postgate,  Scl.,  pp.  27  sqq.;  Hansen,  De  tropis  ct  figuris  apud  Tibullum ; 
Sellar,  pp.  245  sqq. ;  Richard  Burger,  Deitrdge  zur  Elegantia    Tibulls,  in  Xdptres 


INTRODUCTION  4 1 

"  national  and  historical  tendency  "  of  literature  in  the  Augustan 
age.^  Especially  noticeable  is  the  great  advance  in  the  tech- 
nical refinement  of  the  handling  of  the  elegiac  verse  seen  in 
Tibullus  ;  for  some  details  cf.  §  42. 

29.  The  best  Tibullus  Mss.  known  to  us  are  the  Ambrosianus 
(A),  written  in  1374,  discovered  by  Baehrens  in  the  Ambrosian 
library  at  Milan  in  1876,  comparatively  free  from  interpolations; 
and  the  Vaticanus  (V),  discovered  in  the  Vatican  library  by 
Gustav  Loewe  at  the  suggestion  of  Baehrens,  a  Ms.  agreeing 
remarkably  with  A,  and  thus  having  less  independent  value, 
written  probably  at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth,  or  the  beginning  of 
rhe  fifteenth  century.  These  two  Mss.  coming  from  a  common 
archetype,  their  consensus  furnishes  the  most  reliable  authority. 
A  third  Ms.,  the  Guelferbytanus  (G),  found  by  Baehrens  in  the 
ducal  library  at  Wolfenbiittel,  was  probably  overestimated  by  him 
when  he  believed  it  to  be  derived  from  a  different  archetype. 
It  is  apparently  somewhat  interpolated.  Its  date,  according  to 
Baehrens,  is  about  1425  a.d.  Lachmann  had  also,  in  the  prep- 
aration of  his  edition  of  1829,  knowledge  of  the  Parisinus  (B), 
written  in  1423,  somewhat  interpolated,  and  of  little  independent 
value  ;  Eboracensis  (Y),  now  lost,  and  used  only  in  part  and  at 
second  hand  ;  and  the  consensus  of  three  younger  and  inferior 
Mss.  (C),  viz.,  the  Wittianus  (c),  the  Datanus  (d),  and  the  Aske- 
wianus  (e).  All  the  Mss.  thus  far  mentioned  are  believed  to 
come  from  a  common  archetype.  Besides  these  complete  Mss. 
the  Fragmentum  Cuiacianum  (F)  was  an  important,  older  Ms., 
which  began  with  3,  4,  65,  known  by  Scaliger,  and  collated  by 
him  on  the  margin  of  a  Plantinian  edition  of  1569.  This  colla- 
tion, which  was  known  to  Lachmann  only  at  second  hand,  was 
long  lost,  but  is  now  in  the  University  library  at  Leyden  ;  F 
itself  has  been  lost  for  centuries.  There  are  also  two  series  of 
excerpts     which     contain    Tibullus    passages.       The    Excerpta 

F.  Leo  .  .  .  dargebracht,  pp.  371-394;   Linke,  Tibullus  quantum  in  poesi  elegiaca 
profecerit  comparato  Catullo,  1877. 
1  Cf.  Burn,  RL   and  RA.,  p.  79. 


42  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

Parisina  (P)  were  made  by  some  unknown  monk,  perhaps  about 
I  GOO  A.D.,  with  an  evident  purpose  to  emphasize  certain  moral 
precepts  or  to  cull  passages  of  special  beauty.  The  Codex 
Thuaneus  copy  of  these  excerpts  contains  266  vv.  from  the 
Tibullus  collection,  about  100  of  which  differ  materially  from 
the  form  in  which  they  appear  in  the  complete  Mss.  The 
readings  of  P  were  copied  by  Scaliger,  whose  copy  was  copied 
by  Heinsius.  Lachmann  used  the  copy  of  Heinsius.  The 
Excerpta  Frisingensia  (M)  were  not  seen  by  Lachmann  till  after 
his  edition  was  completed.  They  are  in  a  Ms.  which  goes  back 
to  the  eleventh  century  and  are  apparently  copied  from  a 
purer  original  than  the  archetype  of  the  complete  Mss.  More- 
over, the  purposes  in  the  mind  of  the  excerptor  were  not  appar- 
ently such  as  to  lead  him  to  make  arbitrary  alterations  in  the 
text.  F  and  M  therefore  may  be  regarded  as  of  considerable 
value  in  correcting  the  readings  of  A  and  V.^ 

30.  Combined  editions  of  Catullus,  Tibullus,  and  Propertius 
have  been  common  for  centuries,  such  as  the  Aldine  edition  of 
1562  with  learned  comments  by  Muretus  ;  the  Paris  edition  by 
Scaliger  in  1577  ;  the  Bonn  edition  of  1680  edited  by  Graevius 
and  containing  notes  by  many  famous  scholars  ;  and  the  Haupt- 
Vahlen  text  edition  (see  §  19).  The  fourth  edition  of  Heyne 
(improved  by  Wunderlich,  181 7)  contains  much  exegetical 
material.  The  first  critical  edition  was  that  of  Lachmann  in 
1829.  This  was  followed  by  Dissen  in  1835,  with  elaborate 
introduction  and  commentary.  After  the  discovery  of  the  Mss. 
A,  V,  and  G,  Baehrens  brought  out  his  text  in  1878.  E.  Hiller 
produced  a  good  text  with  index  vcrbomm  in  1885.  Belling's 
UntcrsHchung  und  Text  appeared  in  1897,  Postgate's  selections 
in  1903,  and  his  Oxford  text  edition  in  1905  (much  more  con- 
servative than  that  of  1903).  N^methy's  edition  of  Tibullus 
and   Sulpicia  in   1905   was   followed  by  a  separate   edition   of 

iCf.  Rothstein,  De  Tibulli  Codicibus,  Berlin,  i88o;  Protzen,  De  Excerptis  Tibul- 
lianis,  Gieifsvvald,  1869;  Magnus  in  Bursian's  JH.,  Vol.  51  (1887),  pp.311  sqq. ; 
Postgate,  Sel.,  pp.  200-208. 


INTRODUCTION  43 

Lygdamus  in  1906,  the  latter  with  an  index  verboriim.  Like 
Belling,  he  has  attempted  to  rearrange  the  elegies  in  chrono- 
logical order.'  After  completing  his  important  review  of  the 
work  done  on  TibuUus  during  the  last  century  (Cartault,  Corp. 
T//).),  A.  Cartault  in  1909  published  an  edition  of  his  author 
(or  authors)  with  introduction  and  a  conservative  text."  The 
edition  by  Kirby  Flower  Smith  (1913)  includes  an  introduction 
and  full  commentary  on  Books  i,  2,  and  4,  2-14.  For  editions  of 
selections  by  Jacoby  and  Schulze  see  §  19.  Cranstoun's  transla- 
tion Is  perhaps  the  best.  A  more  recent  one  by  Williams  omits 
most  of  Book  4.     The  latest  is  Postgate's,  in  the  Loeb  library. 

PROPERTIUS 

31.  Our  information  concerning  the  life  of  Propertius  must  be 
drawn  almost  entirely  from  his  own  elegies,  especially  1,22,  and 
4,  I.  Such  knowledge  is  but  limited,  not  including,  e.g.,  even  his 
full  name.  Donatus  in  his -life  of  Vergil  calls  him  Sextus  Pro- 
pertius, and  the  use  of  the  same  praenomen  in  the  Codex  Sal- 
masianus  of  the  Latin  Anthology  is  probably  derived  from  the 
same  source.  Some  of  the  Mss.  have  Aurelius  Propertius  Nauta^ 
plainly  the  product  of  pedantry.  "  Aurelius  "  may  have  been 
accepted  from  a  confusion  with  the  name  of  Prudentius ;  while 
"  Nauta  "  has  been  explained  as  derived  from  the  Mss.  reading 
navita  of  2,  24,  38.^ 

From  these  passages,  i,  22,  9-10  ;  4,  i,  63-66  and  121-126,  it  is 
certain  that  Propertius  was  born  in  Umbria,  but  whether  at  As- 
sisium,  Hispellum,  Mevania,  or  at  some  other  neighboring  place 
has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion.  The  first  of  these,  the 
Assisi  of  to-day,  or  at  least  its  vicinity,  is  now  generally  accepted 

iCf.  Jacoby  in  DPW.,  Vol.  26  (1906),  Sp.  141. 

2Cf.  /iJ/a'.,  ¥01.29(1909),  Sp.  1460,  for  a  detailed  statement  of  its  weaknesses. 

3  The  inscription  in  honor  of  Sextus  Aurelius  Propertius,  said  to  have  been  dis- 
covered at  Hispellum  (6]#^//(;),  reproduced  on  p.  3  of  Burmann's  edition  of  Pro- 
pertius, is  clearly  one  of  many  similar  forgeries. 


44  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

as  best  entitled  to  the  honor.^  His  father  died  while  the 
poet  was  still  young,"  and  his  mother  brought  him  up  and  in- 
tended him  for  a  public  career.^  He  had  no  special  ground  for 
pride  in  his  family,''  and  whatever  landed  possessions  he  may 
have  inherited  suffered  the  common  fate  of  large  confiscations, 
as  in  the  case  of  Vergil  and  Tibullus.^  The  confiscation  prob- 
ably was  in  connection  with  the  allotment  of  lands  to  the  veterans 
of  Octavian  in  41  B.C.,  just  before  the  Perusine  war.  At  the 
time  of  this  war,  then,  Propertius,  who  lost  a  relative  at  that 
time  (cf.  I,  22,  7),  was  a  boy  whose  father  had  recently  died.  If 
we  compare  the  youth  of  the  poet  at  this  date  with  the  state- 
ments of  Ovid  {Trist.  4,  10,  41-54;  2,  463-468)  that  Propertius 
was  older  than  himself,  though  in  some  sense  a  successor  of 
Tibullus,  we  find  ground  for  conjecture  that  Propertius  was  born 
not  before  48  B.C.,  perhaps  a  little  later.  As  no  reference  to 
a  date  later  than  16  B.C.  can  be  discovered  in  the  elegies,  it  is 
believed  that  he  died  not  later  than  the  year  15,  perhaps  after 
attending  himself  to  the  publication  of  the  last  book.  Many 
hints  in  his  poems  would  incline  us  to  imagine  him  as  having  a 
rather  frail  constitution,  and  we  can  picture  him  as  pale  and 
thin,  if  we  are  to  take  seriously  his  expressions,  mco  palleat  ore  (i, 
I,  22),  si  exiles  video  r  tenuatus  in  art  us  (2,  22,  21),  and  pallorem 
totiens  fnirabere  nostrum  (1,  5,  21).  But  he  was  particular  about 
his  personal  appearance.*^ 

32.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  such  a  temperament  did  not  promise 
much  success  in  the  prosaic  profession  of  the  law.  Though  well 
educated  under  his  mother's  direction,  whose  remaining  fortune 

1  Cf.  4,  I,  125  ;  Sellar,  pp.  268-276;  Plin.  Ep.  6,  15,  i,  and  the  Assisi  inscription 
in  honor  of  C.  Passennus  Sergius  Paulus  Propertius  Blaesus. 

-4.  I.  127- 

«4,  I,  131  sqq. 

*  Nullus  et  antiquo  Marte  triu7nphus  avi  (2,  34,  56)  ;  quamvis  nee  sanguine  avito 
nobilis  (2,  24,  37). 

°4,  I,  129-130;  2,  24,  38:  quamvis  haud  ita  dives  eras  ;  2,  34,  55:  cui  parva 
domi  fortuna  relictast. 

6  Cf.  2,  4,  5  :  nequiquam  per/usa  ?neis  unguenta  capillis,  ibat  et  expenso  planta 
morata  gradu. 


INTRODUCTION  45 

was  still  ample,  evidently,  to  provide  for  all  the  boy's  needs, 
he  early  discovered  his  poetic  gift,  and  turned  his  back  on  a 
Forum  which  seemed  to  him  a  madman's  paradise  (4,  i, 
133-134).  But  he  was  no  recluse.  He  loved  good-fellowship, 
and  was  ambitious  to  rise  into  the  highest  literary  circles. 
Among  his  best  friends  were  Tullus,  a  nephew  of  the  consul  of 
^T,  B.c.,^  Ponticus  (i,  7),  and  Bassus  (i,  4).  Lynceus  (2,  34)  may 
be  a  pseudonym  for  some  tragic  writer.  Of  the  better  known 
literary  men,  Ovid  and  Vergil  were  certainly  included  in  his 
circle  of  friends.  Tibullus  and  Propertius  do  not  mention  each 
other ;  but  evidently  they  were  well  acquainted  each  with  the 
work  of  the  other.  The  relation  of  Propertius  to  Horace 
has  been  a  subject  for  interesting  discussions.  There  is  no 
sign  that  they  were  friends,  although  belonging  to  the  same 
literary  circle,  that  of  Maecenas.  More  than  that,  quite  a  case 
can  be  made  out  for  thinking  that  Horace  turned  up  his  nose  at 
the  poetic  aspirations  as  well  as  the  personality  of  the  ambitious 
young  elegist.  Postgate  {Prop.,  p.  t,^  has  an  elaborate  argument 
for  identifying  the  passage  in  Horace's  Epistles,  2,  2,  87  sqq.,  as 
a  direct  attack  upon  Propertius.  It  was  probably  the  publica- 
tion of  Book  I  of  the  elegies  that  won  recognition  and  friendship 
from  Maecenas,  and  placed  Propertius  in  the  most  coveted  posi- 
tion in  Rome.  Elegies  2,1,  and  3,  9  are  addressed  to  Maecenas.^ 
The  friendship  of  Maecenas  implied  more  or  less  direct  rela- 
tions with  Augustus.  The  emperor  is  duly  praised  in  various 
places.^  Propertius  seems  to  have  lived  a  social  life  at  Rome, 
seldom  leaving  it,  and  always  anxious  to  return,  when  away. 
He  was  able  to  live  on  the  Esquiline,  ■*  and  occasionally  we  find 
him  at  Tibur,  or  back  in  Umbria  for  a  brief  sojourn. 

33.    But  as  with  Catullus,  the  career  of  Propertius,  as  well  as 

iCf.  I,  I ;   I,  6;   I,  14;  I,  22;  3,  22. 

2  for  a  fascinating  fancy  sketch  of  the  poet's  relations  to  this  group  of  men  of 
letters  cf.  Anne  C.  E.  AUinson,  "  A  Poet's  Toll,"  Atlantic  Monthly,  Vol.  106  (1910), 

PP-  774-784- 

33,  4,  i;  II,  66;  4,  6,  14;   II,  60 

■*3,  23,  24. 


46  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

his  failure  to  realize  all  his  possibilities,  is  largely  due  to  one 
woman.  True,  his  ardent  nature  led  him  when  but  a  slip  of  a 
boy  into  an  attachment  to  one  Lycinna.^  Who  she  was  we  can 
hardly  guess  ;  but  when  he  protested  to  his  jealous  mistress 
later  (v.  43)  that  Lycinna  had  been  but  a  passing  fancy  of  two 
or  three  early  years  (vv.  7-10)  and  added,  aincta  tuns  sepelivit 
amor,  we  may  believe  that  he  spoke  as  near  the  truth  as  forgetful 
lovers  ever  can.  For  when  Cynthia  dawned  upon  his  life  he 
became  for  the  time  being  essentially  a  man  of  one  idea.  Her 
real  name  was  Hostia,^  the  pseudonym  suggesting  not  merely 
the  qualities  of  an  ordinary  lover's  "divinity,"  but  more  espe- 
cially her  function  as  an  inspirer  of  his  poetry ;  for  she  was  not 
only  herself  a  doda  puella,  but  came  of  literary  ancestry,  her 
grandfather  Hostius  having  written,  it  is  believed,  a  poem  on 
the  Illyrian  war.^  Her  fine  literary  tastes  and  elegant  accom- 
plishments were  enhanced  by  all  the  feminine  arts  and  graces 
and  by  a  beauty  which  made  the  susceptible  young  poet  her 
willing  slave.  Her  birthplace  was  at  Tibur,  where  she  seems 
to  have  lived  at  times,  while  commonly  maintaining  a  consider- 
able establishment  at  Rome.  It  was  she  who  made  the  first 
advances,  partly,  perhaps,  because  she  admired  the  gifts  of  the 
young  student  of  poetic  promise.  Indeed,  she  may  have  been 
more  or  less  responsible  for  his  forsaking  the  Forum  and  fre- 
quenting the  salon.  Immediately  the  Alexandrian  impetus 
which  is  seen  in  his  earliest  work  was  concentrated  on  this 
absorbing  affection  and  its  object,  and  he  tells  the  world  of  her 
golden  hair,  her  taper  fingers,  her  sparkling  black  eyes,  and  her 
stately  carriage.'* 

But  Cynthia  was  older  than  Propertius  ^  and  more  artful.  As 
a  meretrix  she  could  not  contract  a  legal  marriage  ;  and  there 
Jvere  other  lovers  to  whom  at  times  she  gave  more  attention 

1  3,  15,  3-6.  2  cf.  ^^  14. 

3  Splendidaque  a  dodo  fama  refulget  avo  (3,  20,  8). 

4  2,  2,  5  ;  2,  3,  9  sqq. ;  2,  12,  23-24. 
5Cf.  2,  18,  19. 


INTRODUCTION  47 

than  the  ardent  poet  lover  could  well  endure.^  There  were 
quarrels  and  reconciliations.  For  some  fault  he  was  banished 
for  a  whole  year  from  her  presence^;  yet  much  later,  m  his 
bitter  leave-taking^  he  reminds  her  that  he  had  been  her 
devoted  slave  for  five  years.''  The  chronology  of  the  poems 
appears  to  agree  with  this  five-year  period ;  for  none  of  those 
referring  to  Cynthia  appears  to  have  been  written  earlier  than 
28  or  later  than  23  B.C.  Yet  the  question  of  the  relative  order 
of  the  elegies  and  the  determination  of  the  exact  years  included 
in  the  five  are  unsolved  problems.  When  the  year  of  separation 
occurred,  and  whether  the  five  years  were  interrupted  or  not, 
are  moot  questions.'^  The  publication  of  the  poet's  first  book  ot 
elegies,^  probably  in  the  year  25,  dealing  almost  exclusively  with 
his  love,  must  have  flattered  the  lady  and  cemented  their  affec- 
tion for  the  time.  But  its  genius  won  for  Propertius  also  a 
place  in  the  friendship  of  Maecenas,  prince  of  patrons,  and 
opened  the  way  for  the  development  of  other  interests  and  for 
increasing  ambition  to  write  on  other  themes.  While  about  two 
thirds  of  all  the  elegies  are  connected  in  some  way  with  Cynthia, 
there  may  be  noted  an  increasing  restlessness  on  the  part  of  the 
poet,  a  sense  of  dissatisfaction  that  his  work  is  confined  within 
so  narrow  a  circle,  which  feeling  was  probably  fostered  by  his 
friends,  who  saw  higher  possibilities  in  him.  He  defends  him- 
self from  time  to  time  for  not  launching  out  on  a  broader  sea, 
and  tries  his  hand  a  little  on  a  certain  patriotic  type  of  poetry. 
Meanwhile  his  liaison  was  running  the  natural  course  of  all  such 
attachments.  The  lover  became  tired  of  the  imperiousness  and 
the  fickleness  of  the  beloved ;  love  was  supplanted  by  disgust, 

1  Cf.  I,  8.  2  3, 16, 9.  3  3_  25.  3. 

■*  Cf.  2,  8,  13 :  ergo  tarn  multos  nimium  temerarius  an?ios,  iiiproba,  qui  tuierim 
teque  tua?nque  domum,  ecquandone  tibi  liber  sum  visas  ? 

5  Cf.  Schanz,  287  ;  Plessis,  pp.  210  sqq. ;  Postgate, /^/■o;>.,  pp.  xxi  sqq. ;  Ramsay, 
p.  xlvi;  Otto,  "Die  Reihenfolge  der  Gedichte  des  Properz,"  in  Hermes,  Wo\.20 
(1885),  pp.  552-572. 

B  The  Cynthia  Monobiblos  of  Martial's  epigram  14, 189  :  Cynthia,  /acundi  carTueri 
iuvenale  Properti,  accepit  famam,  nee  minus  ipsa  dedit. 


48  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

and,  probably  in  the  year  23,  Propertius  renounced  his  mistress 
in  two  bitter  elegies  (3,  24  and  25),  in  which  his  hatred  seems 
as  intense  as  his  earlier  love  had  been.  Whether  there  was  any 
sort  of  a  reconciliation  before  her  death  (which  may  be  put  not 
later  than  the  year  18)  seems  very  doubtful.^  It  is  not  impossi- 
ble that  in  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  Augustus  the  poet  may 
have  married  some  time  before  his  death  and  become  the 
father  of  offspring.'^ 

34.  That  the  Cynthia  book  was  published  first,  and  as  a 
whole,  is  clear.^  Book  2  is  somewhat  larger,  with  thirty-four 
elegies  ;  but  they  are  still  mostly  on  the  same  subject,  and  the 
first  and  last  poems  are  well  adapted  to  open  and  close  re- 
spectively such  a  book.  Lachmann,  however,  introduced  appar- 
ently endless  confusion  into  Propertius  texts  by  deciding  that  a 
third  book  begins  with  2,10.  His  argument  is  based  chiefly  on 
an  assumed  lacuna  before  2,  10  ;  on  the  apparent  fitness  of  this 
elegy  to  open  a  new  book  dedicated  to  Augustus ;  and  on  the 
use  of  the  expression  tres  Ubelli  in  2,  13,  25/  On  the  other 
hand,  it  may  be  urged  (i)  that  it  is  not  certain  that  2,  10  is  in- 
complete, or  is  preceded  by  any  important  omission.  (2)  This 
poem  is  not  very  suitable  as  an  introduction  to  a  book  contain- 
ing little  but  love  elegies.  (3)  Libellus  does  not  necessarily 
mean  a  '  book  '  of  poems  at  all.^  Propertius  in  the  passage  in 
question  ^  does  not  appear  to  be  thinking  of  near  approaching 
death,  and  might  easily  have  been  expecting  to  complete  other 
books  of  elegies  before  that  should  occur.  Perhaps  a  conven- 
tional number  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  Horace  published 

1  But  cf.  Postgate's  elaborate  argument  in  his  Selections,  pp.  xxiv-xxvii. 

2  Cf.  Plin.  Ep.  6,  15 :  Passennus  Paulus  .  .  .  scribit  elegos.  Gentilicium  hoc 
nil  :  est  enim  municeps  Properti  atqiie  etiam  inter  maiores  suos  Propertiutn  numeral. 

3  Cf.  2,  3,  3-4 :  vix  unum  pates,  infelix,  reguiescere  mensem,  et  turpis  de  te  iam 
liber  alter  erit ;  2,  24,  1-2  :  cum  sis  iam  nolo  fabula  libro  et  tua  sit  toto  Cynthia 
lecta  foro. 

■1  Cf.  Lachmann,  pp.  xx  sqq. 

5  Cf.  for  its  use  as  referring  to  a  single  poem,  i,  11,  19;  2,  25,  3  ;  3,  9,  43. 

^  2,  13,  25. 


INTRODUCTION  49 

three  books  of  odes  just  about  this  time.^  Although  there  are 
still  found  scholars  to  defend  the  theory  of  Lachmann,  the  grow- 
ing disposition  seems  to  be  to  return  to  the  Ms.  division  into  four 
books. ^  Book  2  was  probably  published  about  24  B.c.,^  but 
some  of  its  elegies  were  written  at  least  several  years  earlier.'* 
The  third  book  is  still  on  the  whole  largely  concerned  with 
Cynthia.  There  are,  however,  in  this  book  a  number  of  more 
general  love  poems,''  and  a  third  group,  including  the  first  five 
elegies,  in  which  he  only  starts  with  love,  if  love  figures  at 
all  in  these,  and  branches  off  into  other  subjects.  The  book 
must  have  been  published  as  late  as,  or  later  than,  23  B.C.,  as  is 
evidenced  by  3,  18,  on  the  death  of  Marcellus.  In  fact,  3,  4 
seems  to  be  of  the  year  22.  In  the  fourth  book  elegies  Nos.  7 
and  8  at  least  refer  to  Cynthia.  Nos.  3  and  1 1  are  of  the  type  of 
the  Heroides  of  Ovid,  while  the  others  are  of  the  aetiological 
type  which  Propertius,  following  in  the  wake  of  Callimachus, 
was  evidently  ambitiously  planning  to  develop.^  The  last 
elegy  of  the  collection  was  written  in  the  year  16,  and  was 
probably  the  last  one  he  penned.  There  is  no  cogent  reason 
for  doubting  that  he  attended  himself  to  the  publication  of  all 
these  books. 

35.  '  Propertius  is  the  greater  genius,  Tibullus  the  greater 
artist.'  ^  There  are  many  points  of  similarity  between  Propertius 
and  Catullus.  Both  undertook  to  follow  the  Alexandrian  school 
of  elegy.  Both  were  gifted  with  the  genuine  poetic  fire.*  Each 
in  the  years  of  youthfully  exuberant  passions  fell  under  the  spell 
of  a  somewhat  older,  yet   commanding   belle,  who    knew   how 

1  For  still  other  possibilities  of.  Lachmann  himself,  I.e.,  p.  xxii. 

2  For  the  view  that  Boq1<  i  was  long  lost  and  that  the  grammarians  were  wont 
to  cite  from  an  edition  of  Books  2-4,  cf.  Ullm m  in  Class.  Phil.,  Vol.  4  (1909),  pp. 
45-51,  and  Birt  in  Rk.  Mas.,  Vol.  64  (1909),  pp.  393  sqq. 

3  Cf.  2,  10,  Intr.  "*  E.g.  2,  31,  which  belongs  to  the  year  28. 
5  E.g.  II  and  13.  6  Cf.  4,  i,  Intr. 

7  Leo,  in  Die  Kultur  der  Gegenwart,  "  Die  Romische  Literatur,"  p    350. 

8  For  Propertius  as  a  poet  of  nature  cf.  K.  P.  H.  in  PAPA.,  Vol.  32  (1901), 
pp.  xx-xxii ;  Geikie,  pp.  96-97,  el  passim. 

aOM.    EL.   POETS 4. 


50  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

to  enthrall  her  lover  and  practically  drove  any  more  serious 
career  for  the  time  from  his  life.  Both  died  prematurely,  before 
the  work  that  might  have  been  expected  in  their  maturity  could 
materialize.  But  Propertius  confined  himself  entirely  to  elegy 
and  in  that  field  not  merely  produced  a  remarkable  group  of 
erotic  poems  revealing  the  passion  of  his  life,  but  worked  out 
the  beginnings,  so  far  as  Roman  literature  is  concerned,  of  two 
new  types  which  were  to  be  developed  more  elaborately  by  his 
successor  Ovid,  the  amatory  epistle  and  the  aetiological  poem. 
The  intensity  of  Propertius  goes  far  to  explain  his  work  and  its 
manner.  When  love  holds  him  he  forgets  everything  else,  and 
pictures  for  the  reader  every  changing  mood  and  fortune  of  his 
passion.  When  ambition  rules,  he  hesitates  at  no  literarj'  device 
to  win  and  keep  the  attention  and  admiration  of  his  audience. 
He  believed  thoroughly  in  the  merits  of  the  Alexandrian  manner, 
and  therefore  almost  outdid  the  Alexandrians  themselves.  This 
unrestrained  temper  as  a  poet  brings  about  the  strange  juxtaposi- 
tion of  simple  human  passion  and  pedantic  learning.  It  also 
leads  the  poet  to  an  extreme  recklessness  of  the  conventionalities 
of  the  Latin  language.  He  does  not  care  to  speak  by  the  book, 
but  uses  often  an  idiom  all  his  own.  His  desire  to  be  considered 
the  Roman  Callimachus  was  doubtless  responsible  for  much  of 
the  abstruse  mythological  lore  that  burdens  his  pages  ;  but  his 
poetic  imagination  enabled  him  in  spite  of  this  pedantry  to  be  a 
great  poet.  He  carries  the  reader  with  him  as  he  breaks  abruptly 
in  upon  his  own  course  of  thought  to  ejaculate  a  question,  or 
utter  a  reproach,  or  enunciate  a  principle.  We  follow  him  into 
the  contagious  gladness  of  love's  heyday,  and  the  next  moment 
share  his  despair  and  forecast  of  death.  Yet  there  are  many 
indications  that  he  studied  carefully  many  models,  not  merely 
those  of  the  Alexandrian  epoch,  but  throughout  the  broader 
field  of  classic  Greek.  Modern  scholarship  has  not  yet  fully 
worked  out  the  intricate  relations  of  Roman  elegy.  But  among 
the  interesting  questions  discussed  in  recent  times  are  those  of  the 
amatory  epistle  as  an  intermediate  type  leading  up  to  subjective- 


INTRODUCTION  5 I 

erotic  elegy,  the  part  played  by  the  epigram  as  a  seed  thought 
for  such  elegy,  and  the  whole  matter  of  the  actual  existence  in  the 
Alexandrian  epoch  of  anything  corresponding  to  the  Roman 
subjective-erotic  elegy  as  we  know  it  in  Propertius.  Doubtless 
the  elements  that  Propertius  combined  in  his  effective  product 
were  gathered  from  many  sources  ;  but  there  is  little  proof  that 
anything  closely  resembling  these  elegies  ever  existed  in  Alex- 
andria.^ Attention  should  also  be  called  to  the  skillful  arrange- 
ment of  two  or  more  elegies  of  Propertius  in  various  instances.^ 
In  his  use  of  the  elegiac  distich  Propertius  manifests  both  the 
skill  and  the  freedom  characterizing  his  work  in  other  respects. 
A  growing  care  in  its  treatment  is  seen  in  the  frequency  of  his 
rimes  and  dissyllabic  pentameter  endings,  and  his  treatment  of 
the  pentameter  in  general  was  epoch-making.^ 

The  language  and  style  of  Propertius  furnish  a  subject  worthy 
of  most  careful  investigation  and  analysis.  Considering  his 
devotion  to  Greek  models,  his  diction  is  notably  free  from  Gre- 
cisms.'*  The  large  freedom  of  treatment  of  many  familiar  words 
like  cogo,  venio,  duco,  and  the  poetic  abandon  with  which  he 
ranges  through  the  language  for  unexpected  expressions  for 
such  familiar  ideas  as  death,  for  example,  have  been  carefully 
investigated,  as  well  as  his  unusual  handling  of  various  classes 
of  words.^     The  syntax  of  Propertius  is  remarkable  for  its  reck- 

iCf.  Jacoby  in  h'/i.  Mus.,  Vol.  60  (1905),  pp.  38-105;  64  (1909),  pp.  601  sqq. ; 
65  (i9io),pp.  22  sqq.;  and  in  /iPW.,  Vol.  31  (1911),  Sp.  169  sqq. ;  Heineniann, 
Ephtidae  Amatoriae  quo  modo  cokaereant  cum  eiei^iis  Alexandrhi'n  (1910)  ;  Reitzen- 
stein  in  P.W.,  article  Epigramm  ;  Crusius  in  P.W.,  article  Elegie  ;  Biirgcr  in  Bur- 
sian's  /Z?.,  Vol.  153,  pp  135-145;  Hermann  Peter,  Der  Brief  in  der  romiscken 
Litteratur,Y>Y>.  188  sqq.;  Fridericus  Mallet,  Quaestiones  Propertianae,  Gdttingen, 
1882;  Maas,  "  Untersuchungen  zu  Properz  und  seinen  Griechischen  Vorbildern," 
in  Hermes,  Vol.  31  (1896),  pp.  375  sqq. 

2Cf.  Ites,  De  Propertii  Elegiis  inter  se  conexis,  Gottingen,  1908. 

8Cf.  Sellar,  pp.  306-310;  Foster  in  TAPA.,  Vol.  40  (1909).  pp.  31-62;  Ramsay, 
p.  xlvii. 

*  J.  S.  Philliniore  has  published  an  Index  Verboruiu  Propertianus,  O.xford,  1905. 

5Cf.  Uhlmann,  pp.  83-88;  Frahnert,  Z«;«  Sprachgebrauch  des  Properz,  Halle, 
1874 ;  Kuttner,  De  Propertii  Elocutione  Quaestiones,  Halle,  1878 ;  Postgate,  Prop., 
pp.  xxxviii-xl. 


52  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

lessness,  vagueness,  looseness,  sometimes  its  intricacy,  and  often 
its  obscurity.  No  better  instance  can  be  cited  than  his  omnibus 
use  of  the  Ablative,  which,  however,  only  exaggerates  in  charac- 
teristic manner  a  tendency  long  dormant  in  the  language.^  With 
the  inconsistency  of  a  lover,  brevity  wrestles  with  a  fondness  for 
periphrasis;  e.g.  in  infinitive  expressions.-  What  Postgate' 
acutely  calls  the  "  polarization  of  an  idea  "  so  as  to  treat  it 
immediately  from  another  standpoint,  may  be  compared  with 
his  "  love  of  symmetry  and  correspondence  "  in  arrangement* 
If  his  metaphors  are  often  far-fetched,  they  are  nevertheless  tell- 
ing. In  short,  the  poetry  of  Propertius  is  the  work  of  a  bril- 
liant young  man,  hardly  more  than  a  boy,  unrestrained,  unpruned, 
full  of  the  marks  of  genius,  and  overcrowded  with  much  as  yet 
unassimilated  learning.  His  "faculty  of  evoking  a  dim  con- 
sciousness of  awe  in  lines  which  present  an  indefinable  stimulus 
to  the  imagination  "^  is  doubtless  partly  due  to  what  Sellar  calls 
his  "  desperate  sincerity,"  and  partly  to  an  imagination  that  in 
its  sweep  leaves  most  Latin  poets  out  of  the  race. 

36.  The  history  of  Propertian  text  criticism  has  been,  and  still 
is,  a  stormy  one  ;  and  probably  no  important  Latin  author  still 
labors  under  so  much  uncertainty  as  to  what  he  actually  wrote, 
or  is  so  overburdened  with  the  learned  attempts  of  scholars  in 
many  lands  to  suggest  what  they  surmise  he  may  have  written. 
The  areas  of  arid  wastes  abandoned  to  Propertius  text  conjec- 
tures in  the  various  periodicals  in  the  field  of  classical  philology 
are  growing  with  alarming  rapidity,  and  it  will  not  be  long, 
apparently,  before  an  attempt  to  enumerate  the  suggested  changes 
in  a  page  of  the  text  will  occupy  more  space  than  the  text  itself. 

Lachmann  correctly  decided  that  the  Codex  Neapolitanus  (N), 
written  about  1200  a.d.  in  the  vicinity  of  Metz,  now  at  Wolfen- 

ICf.  Wagner,  De  Syntaxi  Propertiana,  Passau,  1888;  Hoerle,  De  Casuum  usu 
Propertiano,  Halle,  1887;  Postgate,  Prop.,lniT.,  pp.  Ivii  sqq.;  the  Index  Gramma- 
ticus  in  Hosius  ;  and  the  recent  comprehensive  study  of  Uhlmann. 

2Cf.  Postgate,  Prop.,  p.  xlii  ;  Uhlmann,  p.  94. 

^ L.c,  p.  Ixvii.  4  Postgate,  Prop.,  p.  Ixxi.  5  Duff,  p.  578. 


INTRODUCTION  53 

biittel,  was  the  most  nearly  correct  and  trustworthy  of  all  the  Pro- 
pertius  Mss.  known  in  his  day,  although  he  overestimated  sadly 
another  Ms.,  now  generally  considered  as  of  little  worth  (Gronin- 
ganus,  fifteenth  century).  After  a  half  century  of  controversy  over 
the  relative  merits  of  N,  Baehrens  in  1880  preferred  to  base  his  edi- 
tion chiefly  on  four  other  Mss.  belonging  to  two  different  families. 
These  were  the  Vossianus  (A)  of  Leyden,  probably  written  in 
France  in  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  or  early  part  of  the  four- 
teenth century  ;  the  Laurentianus  (F),  a  Milan  Ms.  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  evidently  of  the  same  family  and  even  believed  by 
Ullman  ^  to  be  "  a  granddaughter  of  A,"  the  Ottobonianus  Vati- 
canus  15 14  (V),  written  in  the  fourteenth  or  fifteenth  century; 
and  the  Daventriensis  (D),  of  the  same  family  as  the 
last,  written  in  the  fifteenth  century.  More  recent  scholar- 
ship has  rejected  Baehrens's  judgment  and  confirmed  Lach- 
mann's  view  that  N  is  far  the  best  of  known  Propertius 
Mss.  Propertian  criticism,  however,  is  apparently  ever 
increasingly  active.  The  history  of  the  Mss.  already  men- 
tioned, and  their  relation  to  each  other  and  to  many  others, 
mostly  apparently  inferior  Mss.,  are  the  subject  of  vigorous  dis- 
cussion. New  Mss.  have  been  discovered,  like  the  Codex  Holk- 
hamicus  (L),  written  in  Italy  in  142 1,  and  belonging  to  the  same 
general  class  as  the  preferred  Mss.  of  Baehrens,  and  several 
other  Italian  Mss.,  including  the  Codex  Lusaticus  (L),  written  in 
1469  at  Padua,  which  Paul  Kohler^  attempted  to  exalt  to  an 
important  place  beside  N.  But  Postgate  ^  has  argued  convinc- 
ingly to  show  this  last  to  have  little  independent  value.  O.  L, 
Richmond''  has  in  connection  with  a  review  of  the  known  Mss. 
of  Propertius  compared  five  fifteenth  century  Mss.  that  appear  to 
come  from  a  common  origin,  which  he  denominates  C,  and  thinks 
may  have  been  written  by  an  Irish  scholar,  and  that  it  presented 

1  Class.  Phil.,  Vol.  6  (1911),  p.  c88. 

2  Philologus,  Vol.  64  (1905),  pp.  414-437. 

3  Class.  Rev.,  Vol.  20  (1906),  pp   349-352. 

*  Jour,  of  Phil.,  Vol.  31  (1908-1910),  pp.  162-196. 


54  ROMAN   ELEGIAC  POETS 

a  "  corrupt,  but  ancient  tradition  "  of  much  importance,  and  was 
probably  written  earlier  than  any  other  of  our  Mss.  This  view, 
however,  is  not  shared  by  B.  L.  Ullman,^  who  in  discussing  the 
Mss.  of  Propertius  finds  after  examining  as  many  as  a  hundred 
Mss.  that  none  are  earlier  than  the  fifteenth  century  except 
N,  A,  and  F,  and  gives  an  interesting  chain  of  evidence  to  show 
that  all  our  Mss.  come  from  A  and  N,  that  a  famous  lost  Ms.  of 
Petrarch  was  copied  from  A,  and  that  this  lost  Ms.  was  the  arche- 
type of  F.  Among  the  most  prolific  inventors  of  emendations 
to  the  text  has  been  A.  E.  Housman.^ 

37.  The  first  edition  of  Lachmann  in  1816,  with  introduction 
and  critical  notes,  was  followed  in  1829  by  his  text  edition,  in 
which  he  receded  from  his  positions  in  many  instances,  but  gave 
no  explanation  of  the  changes.  Hertzberg's  edition  of  1843-1845 
contains  a  wealth  of  material  in  the  introductory  Quaestioties 
and  the  elaborate  commentary.  Baehrens's  text  in  1880  was 
characteristically  marred  by  the  liberties  he  took  with  its  tradi- 
tional form.  In  1898  Rothstein  produced  a  masterly  commen- 
tary, with  up-to-date  introduction  and  various  happy  textual 
emendations.  Butler's  edition  with  English  commentary  (1905) 
is  somewhat  disputatious  and  perhaps  reactionary,  but  offers 
many  valuable  suggestions.  The  latest  text  editions  are  the 
Oxford  text  of  Phillimore  (1901)  and  the  Teubner  text  of  Hosius 
(19 11).'  Postgate's  Select  Elegies  has  a  very  useful  introduction 
and  analysis  of  Propertius's  style,  and  a  commentary  rich  in  its 
illustrative  material  and  its  literary  appreciation.  Besides  the 
Haupt-Vahlen  text  with  Catullus  and  Tibullus,  the  elegiac 
selections  of  Ramsay,  Schulze,  Jacoby,  and  Carter  should  be 
noted  (cf.  §  19).  Cranstoun's  metrical  translation  in  1876  has 
been  followed  by  Phillimore's  prose  version,  aftc  thirty  years. 
Still  more  recent  is  Butler's,  in  the  Loeb  library. 

1  Class.  Phil.,  Vol.  6  (1911),  pp.  282-301. 

2Cf.  Heydenreich  in  Bursian's  //?.,  Vol.  55  (1888),  pp.  144-152.  A  good  de- 
tailed description  of  the  most  important  Mss.  is  found  in  Ramsay's  introduction,  pp. 
Vlvii ;  cf.  Plessis,  pp.  1-4^;  Housman  in  Class.  Rev.,  Vol.  9  (1895),  pp.  19-29. 

3  Cf.  Foster  in  AJP.,  Vol.  33  (1912),  pp.  330-342. 


INTRODUCTION  55 

OVID 

38.  The  wealth  of  material  left  us  in  the  works  of  Ovid 
makes  it  possible  to  write  his  biography  and  estimate  the  value 
of  his  literary  product  with  more  ease  and  greater  complete- 
ness than  is  the  case  with  either  of  the  other  elegiac  writers, 
his  Tristia  in  particular  furnishing  us  detailed  information  about 
his  life. 

Publius  Ovidius  Naso  was  born  at  Sulmo  {So/mo/ia)  on 
March  20,  43  b.c./  the  second  son  of  a  noble  equestrian  father. 
He  repeatedly  refers  to  his  native  place  and  evidently  appre- 
ciated the  natural  beauties  and  advantages  of  the  well-watered 
valley.^  As  his  family  was  in  comfortable  circumstances,  all  the 
educational  advantages  of  the  day  were  given  him,  including 
extensive  privileges  of  travel,  according  to  the  growing  tendency 
under  the  empire.  With  various  embellishments  we  have  essen- 
tially in  Ovid  a  repetition  of  the  early  years  of  the  other  elegiac 
poets,  so  far  as  we  know  them,  only  with  more  detailed  knowl- 
edge. He  enjoyed  the  companionship  and  tutelage  of  the  best 
rhetoricians  of  his  day,  especially  Arellius  Fuscus  and  Porcius 
Latro.  He  studied  in  Athens  and  extended  his  travels  to  the 
East  and  to  Sicily.  He,  too,  was  intended  for  a  lawyer  and  the 
public  career  open  to  an  equestrian.  He,  too,  was  of  an  easy- 
going disposition  and  preferred  poetry  to  official  humdrum. 
He,  too,  liked  gay  society  and  knew  the  town  as  other  young 
men  with  well-lined  purses  knew  it.  He  filled  one  or  two 
minor  offices,  and  cared  little  for  such  duties.  But  his  native 
poetic  ability  was  even  more  remarkable  than  that  of  any  of  his 
predecessors.  He  must  indeed  have  "  lisped  in  numbers."  We 
cannot  imagine  that  Ovid  ever  had  to  labor  to  write  poetry. 
Such  genius  could  not  fail  of  recognition  ;  and  even  as  a  young 
man  he  began  to  know  and  associate  with  Propertius,  Horace, 
Ponticus,  Bassus,  Macer,  and  other  less  known  poets,  and  was 

1  Trist.  4,  10,  5-6. 

2  Ct.  .Im.  2,  16,  I  sqq.;    Trist.  4,  10,  3;   Martinengo,  p.  163, 


56  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

even  in  a  fair  way  to  have  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  Vergil 
and  Tibullus,  had  not  too  early  death  removed  them  from  the 
brilliant  literary  set  that  graced  the  court  of  Augustus. 

Welcomed  thus  in  young  manhood  as  a  brilliant  and  compan- 
ionable acquisition  to  the  best  society  of  Rome,  he  lived  till 
past  fifty  as  its  idol,  and  produced  a  large  body  of  verse 
especially  adapted  to  the  temper  of  the  writer  and  to  the  time 
and  manners  of  which  he  was  so  prominent  a  part.  Twice 
married  and  divorced  in  young  manhood,  he  was  happily  mar- 
ried later  to  a  lady  of  the  Fabian  family,  and  had  a  daughter. 
Suddenly  and  without  warning,  probably  in  the  year  8  a. p., 
while  Ovid  was  away  from  Rome  at  Elba,  an  imperial  decree  of 
rekgatio  required  him  to  take  up  his  residence  at  Tomi  on  the 
Black  Sea.  Speculation  has  never  been  able  to  arrive  at  a  cer- 
tain solution  of  the  riddle  of  this  banishment.  Ovid  himself 
mentions  carmen  et  crror'^  as  explanations.  We  are  certain  that 
the  Ars  Amatoria  was  the  '  poem  ' ;  but  that  alone,  and  years 
after  its  composition,  could  hardly  have  been  a  sufficient  reason. 
What  '  mistake  '  Ovid  made  we  shall  never  know.  He  was  not 
a  political  intriguer,  nor,  at  this  time  in  his  life  at  least,  can  we 
believe  him  to  have  been  a  party  of  the  first  part  in  any  scandal. 
His  family  acquaintance  with  the  two  Julias,  the  daughter  and 
the  granddaughter  of  the  emperor,  has  led  to  various  guesses, 
one  of  the  least  unlikely  of  which  is  that  Ovid  knew  about  the 
younger  Julia's  adulterous  relation  with  Silanus.^  What  it  meant 
for  this  favorite  ornament  of  metropolitan  society  to  be  com- 
pelled thus  to  hurry  home,  take  leave  of  his  devoted  family,  and 
hasten  to  the  provincial  and  bleak  northwestern  frontier  of  the 
empire  can  hardly  be  imagined.  No  wonder  that  he  spent 
most  of  his  time  during  the  next  ten  years  in  writing  mournful 
elegies  to  persuade  Augustus  to  take  pity  on  him  by  a  recall,  and 
that  he  died  a  broken-hearted  man  in  the  year  i8. 

39.  The  literary  activity  of  Ovid  began  probably  with  the 
Amores,  mostly  erotic  elegies  dealing  with   the   love  relations 

1  Trist.  2,  207.  2  Cf.  Schanz,  ^  291. 


INTRODUCTION  57 

between  Ovid  and  Corinna  (probably  a  type  rather  than  a  real 
person),  which  were  published  in  an  edition  of  five  books  but 
later  pruned  to  three  books.  Meanwhile  some  of  the  Epistles 
{Heroides)  of  fair  heroines  of  the  mythical  world  to  the  corre- 
sponding heroes  had  been  produced,  and  a  group  of  them  was 
probably  published  before  the  second  edition  of  the  Amoves 
appeared.  To  whatever  the  original  idea  of  the  Heroides  is  to 
be  traced,^  they  at  least  are  modeled  to  a  considerable  degree  on 
the  only  parallel  that  preceded  them  in  Roman  literature,  viz. 
the  elegy  of  Propertius  (4,  3)  written  in  the  form  of  a  love  letter 
of  Arethusa  to  Lycotas.^  Much  controversy  has  raged  over  the 
genuineness  of  some  of  the  twenty-one  extant  epistles,  and  the 
question  is  hardly  yet  settled. 

In  the  Ars  Amatoria,  in  three  books,  published  2,  or  i,  b.c, 
Ovid  still  keeps  the  elegiac  verse,  but  assumes  a  didactic  tone, 
though  often  plainly  ironical,  as  he  gives  advice  to  lovers  how 
to  win  and  retain  affection.  This  advice  is  addressed  to  men  in 
Books  1-2,  to  women  in  Book  3.  The  Remedia  Anion's,  in  one 
book,  counsels  those  who  would  rid  themselves  of  love.  The 
Medicaniina  Faciei,  addressed  to  the  ladies  who  would  possess 
the  fairest  complexions,  is  incomplete,  and  was  apparently  writ- 
ten before  the  publication  of  the  Ars  Amatoria. 

The  Fasti,  a  poetic  elaboration  of  the  Roman  calendar, 
especially  of  the  festivals,  was  to  have  contained  twelve  books, 
one  for  every  month.  Of  them  six  had  been  written  at  the  time 
of  his  relegatio  and  the  work  had  been  dedicated  to  Augustus. 
The  other  six  were  never  written.  After  the  death  of  Augustus 
the  poet  re-dedicated  the  work  to  Germanicus  and  began  a 
revision  of  it  which  affected  little  except  the  first  book.  The 
Fasti  are  a  systematic  treatment  based  on  a  similar  idea  to  that 
of  the  aetiological  elegies  of  the  fourth  book  of  Propertius,  for 
which,  of  course,  there  were  interesting  Alexandrian  models. 
Ovid  also  had  the  important  calendar  of  Verrius  Flaccus  as  a 
model,  which  he  seems  to  have  followed  quite  closely  in  places. 

ICf.  §  35.  2Cf.  Rohde,  Der  Grieckische  Roman,  p.  112,  n.  4. 


58  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

An  even  more  fascinating  field  for  Ovid's  story-telling  art  was 
afforded  by  his  master  work,  the  Metamorphoses,  written  in 
hexameters,  in  fifteen  books,  in  which  with  consummate  skill  he 
weaves  together  in  continuous  narrative  a  large  part  of  the  tales 
of  classical  mythology,  emphasizing  particularly  the  marvelous 
transformations  which  were  so  common  in  that  mythology. 
Although  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  Tomi  he  consigned  his 
copy  of  this  work  to  the  flames,  it  was  already  known  in  other 
copies  and  thus  spared  to  posterity. 

The  five  books  of  Tristia  and  the  four  following  {Ep/s/itlae) 
Ex  Pflnfo,  written  during  his  exile,  were  addressed  to  his  wife,  to 
Augustus,  to  various  friends,  and  in  many  cases  to  nobody  in 
particular,  uttering  his  complaints  upon  his  sad  lot,  his  petitions 
for  its  alleviation,  his  flattery  of  the  emperor.  Naturally  the 
variations  on  this  theme  grow  increasingly  feeble  towards  the 
end  of  the  long  series.  These  are  written  in  elegiac  verse,  as  is 
the  Ibis,  an  attack  upon  some  enemy,  modeled  after  the  similar 
poem  of  Callimachus  addressed  to  Apollonius.  There  is  also  a 
fragment  in  hexameter  called  Haliciitica,  dealing  with  the  fishes 
of  the  Euxine.  Besides  this  large  amount  of  the  extant  literary 
product  of  Ovid's  genius,  he  wrote  a  tragedy  under  the  title 
Medea,  an  epithalamium  for  Fabius  Maximus,  an  elegy  on  the 
death  of  Messalla,  an  astronomical  work  called  Phaenomena, 
certain  epigrams,  a  cento  on  bad  poets,  and  some  other  occa- 
sional poems.  Still  other  poems  were  falsely  attributed  to  him, 
particularly  an  elegy  entitled  Nux  and  a  Cotisolatio  ad  Liviam. 

40.  We  see  already  in  Ovid  traces  of  a  tendency  in  Roman 
elegy  to  recur  from  the  subjective-erotic  to  the  objective-erotic 
elegy.  The  poet  is  too  facile  to  be  sincere.  The  Amoves  have, 
to  be  sure,  the  form  of  personal  experience,  and  undoubtedly 
they  represent  a  composite  of  many  personal  experiences,  as 
well  as  the  knowledge  and  imagination  of  many  others  such  as 
Ovid's  world  could  furnish.  Corinna,  too,  is  apparently  but  a 
composite  photograph  of  many  brilliant  and  fascinating  Roman 
girls.     A  theory  that  Corinna  was  only  another  name  for  the 


INTRODUCTION  50 

imperial  Julia  was  long  since  exploded.  In  the  FTeroides  and  the 
Ars  Amatoria  the  feeling  becomes,  of  course,  quite  objective, 
although  (;)vid  betrays  constantly  his  intimate  and  discerning 
knowledge  of  the  feminine  nature.  The  Fast:  are  the  elaboration 
of  the  aetiological  elegy.  The  fatal  facility  of  Ovid  is  a  sign  of  a 
rather  shallow  nature,  or  at  any  rate  of  one  whose  genuine  quali- 
ties were  polished  off  in  the  easy  society  of  the  capital  into 
monotonous  smoothness.  Nowhere  does  this  appear  more  con- 
clusively than  in  relation  to  the  ethical  significance  of  his  work. 
It  is  not  probable  that  his  personal  character  was  any  more  de- 
graded than  that  of  the  other  poets  of  this  brilliant  group  of 
elegiac  writers.  But  his  lack  of  sincerity  leads  him  to  deal  with 
questionable  themes  in  so  cold-blooded  and  intimate  a  way  as  to 
shock  even  those  who  would  not  be  accused  of  prudish  senti- 
ments. The  Ars  Amatoria  has  been  bluntly  described  as  a 
manual  of  seduction,  and  estimated  as  the  most  immoral  book 
ever  written  ;  and  even  if  we  grant  that  it  is  not  so  unfair  a 
mirror  of  the  society  that  called  it  forth  and  that  read  it  with 
avidity,  we  cannot  pardon  its  author  for  the  lightness  with  which 
he  could  project  such  a  weapon  for  evil  into  a  world  of  unknown 
dimensions.  Occasionally  we  get  what  seem  to  be  touches  of 
genuine  feeling,  and  such  elegies  as  that  on  the  death  of  Tibullus 
are  among  the  world's  treasures.  It  is  form,  however,  rather  than 
substance  that  is  ever  before  Ovid's  mind.  He  dresses  up  his 
thought  in  immaculate  Latin,  and  writes  without  apparent  ef- 
fort a  perfected  form  of  the  elegiac  distich  which  is  faulty  only 
in  exhibiting  too  obviously  an  unusual  refinement.  As  a 
student  in  the  rhetorical  schools  he  had  been  fond  of  the 
Siiasoriae ;  in  his  poetry  he  elaborates  these  in  impeccable 
metrical  form.  A  rare  gift  of  imagination  and  a  love  for  every- 
thing beautiful  made  it  possible  for  him  to  describe  the  beautiful 
in  nature  in  the  most  telling  way,  and  to  people  the  natural 
world  with  all  sorts  of  fairy  and  mythical  beings  in  fascinating 
pictures  in  a  perfect  setting.^     Not  only  are  all  the  arts  of  the 

1  Cf.  Martinengo,  Chap.  IX. 


6o  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

rhetorician  at  his  command,  but  he  also  has  the  benefit  of  all 
that  has  preceded  him  in  Roman  literature,  as  well  as  in  that  of 
Greece,  and  makes  good  use  of  it.^  No  Latin  author  probably 
has  borrowed  as  freely  and  extensively  from  his  contemporaries 
and  immediate  predecessors.^  But  Ovid  does  not  lack  the 
genuine  poetic  power  of  coining  new  words  to  meet  his  necessi- 
ties. Something  like  half  a  thousand  of  these  we  probably  owe 
to  his  invention.^  No  noteworthy  syntactical  peculiarities  worry 
the  student  of  Ovid.  His  style  is  perfectly  transparent,  and  as 
a  rule  the  thought  of  each  distich  is  complete  in  itself. 

But  his  even  regularity  was  fatal  to  the  life  of  elegy.  "  Tibul- 
lus  had  written  naturally  and  feelingly  on  love,  old  age,  and 
the  country.  But  themes  which  had  been  by  him  treated  simply 
soon  became  fixed  conventions.  Ovid,  despite  his  clearness,  con- 
tributed to  the  progress  of  artificiality.  The  loss  of  the  true 
Tibullian  simplicity  in  theme  and  the  loss  of  the  true  Ovidian 
ease  in  movement  are  evident  many  generations  before  the 
elegies,  at  once  sensuous  and  frigid,  which  were  written  by 
Maximianus  in  the  sixth  century."^ 

41 .  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  Mss.  and  editions  of  all 
of  Ovid's  works  in  detail.  The  Mss.  of  the  Amores  and  Heroides 
are  somewhat  fragmentary.  The  Codex  Parisinus  (Puteanus) 
8242  (P),  of  the  eleventh  (or  ninth  ?)  century,  contains  most  of  the 
Atnores  and  the  larger  part  of  the  Heroides.  The  Parisinus  Regius 
73 1 1  (R),  of  the  tenth  century,  has,  besides  several  others  of  the 
erotic  works,  y^W(?r.  i,  1,3-2,  49.  The  Sangallensis  864  (S),  of 
the  eleventh  century,  contains  the  Amores  as  far  as  3,  9,  10,  with 
the  omission  of  1,6,  46-8,  74.  The  Guelferbytanus  (G),  of 
the  twelfth  century,  much  corrected  by  a  later  hand  (thirteenth 


1  Cf.  Zielinski  in  Philologus ,  Vol.  64  (1905),  p.  16. 

2Cf.  E.  K.  Rand  in  TAP  A.,  Vol.  35  (1904),  pp.  143  sqq. ;  Gansemiiller  in 
Philologus,  Vol.  70  (1911),  pp.  274-311  and  397-437. 

3  Linse,  De  P.  Ovidio  Nasone,  Vocabulorutn  Inventore,  allows  him  487  ;  Schiitte. 
in  BPM'.,  Vol.  12  (1892),  Sp.  12,  thinks  the  number  may  be  increased  to  514. 

*  Duff,  p.  611. 


INTRODUCTION  6 1 

century)  contains  the  Heroides.  An  Eton  fragment  (E)  of  the 
eleventh  century  contains  the  Heroides  up  to  7,  157  only.  Other 
excerpts  or  fragments  may  be  passed  over  at  this  time  except 
the  Schedae  Vindobonenses  (V),  beginning  at  10,  14.  For  the 
Tristia  and  Ex  Fon/o,  the  chief  Mss.  besides  the  corrupt 
Laurentianus  (L),  eleventh  century,  are  the  Guelferbytanus 
(G),  thirteenth  century,  Holkhamicus  (H),  thirteenth  century, 
Palatinus  (P),  fifteenth  century,  and  Vaticanus  (V),  thirteenth 
century,  besides  a  lost  Marcianus  Politiani  (A).' 

The  chief  text  editions  of  all  of  Ovid's  works  are  those  of 
Riese  (2d  ed.,1889  sqq.),  Ehwald-Merkel  (4th  ed.,  1888  sqq.),  and 
Postgate's  Corpus  Poetariitn  Latinortim.  The  Atnores  have  been 
edited  in  German  with  valuable  introduction,  commentary,  and 
appendices  (including  useful  bibliography)  by  P.  Brandt.  The 
editions  of  Palmer  (1898)  and  Sedlmayer  (1886)  are  most 
important  for  the  Heroides.  Thirteen  Heroides  are  in  the  con- 
venient English  edition  of  Shuckburgh,  with  introduction  and 
commentary.  For  the  Tristia  Owen's  edition  (1889)  is  valu- 
able. The  Epistles  Ex  Ponio  are  in  a  critical  edition  by  Korn  ^ 
(1868).  Ovid's  works  have  metrical  English  versions  by  Dryden 
and  other  poets. 

THE   ELEGIAC    DISTICH 

42.  The  laws  governing  the  relatively  simple  metrical  form 
composed  of  a  single  dactylic  hexameter  followed  by  a  single 
dactylic  pentameter  —  so-called  —  are  but  few;  and  at  first 
sight  it  would  seem  as  if  there  were  only  a  narrow  margin  for 
the  exercise  of  originality  in  treatment.  In  the  hexameter  there 
are  certain  positions  between  which  the  writer  must  choose  for  his 
verse  caesura  ;  he  is  expected  to  employ  a  fair  proportion  of 
dactyls,  one  being  regularly  found  in  the  fifth  foot ;  the  verse 

1  Cf.  Postgate's  Corpus  Poetarum  Latinorum,  Ehwald's  Praefatio,  Shuckburgh's 
Introduction;  Owen's  edition. 

2  Cf.  BPW.,  Vol.  16  (1896),  Sp.  1 163  sqq. 


62  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

should  end  preferably  with  a  word  of  either  two  or  three  syl- 
lables; harsh  elisions  should  be  avoided.  In  the  pentameter 
the  end  of  a  word  should  always  coincide  with  the  end  of  the 
first  half  of  the  verse  ;  the  last  half  of  the  verse  must  always 
consist  of  two  dactyls  followed  by  a  single  syllable  ;  elisions 
should  be  sparingly  employed,  and  at  any  rate  harsh  ones 
avoided. 

But  besides  such  few  simple  principles  for  the  government  of 
the  meter,  we  find  that  in  practice  there  grew  up  various  other 
rules,  and  many  refinements  came  into  vogue,  so  that  we  can 
trace  a  very  interesting  progress  in  the  mode  of  the  verse  from 
Catullus  to  Ovid  and  can  see  many  indications  of  individuality 
in  its  treatment  by  the  various  authors.  The  subject  is  toe 
large  to  be  discussed  exhaustively  here  ;  but  the  student  may  be 
referred  to  a  large  body  of  studies,  which  is  constantly  growing, 
with  reference  to  it,  and  encouraged  to  pursue  his  own  investiga- 
tions along  this  line. 

The  growth  of  new  conventional  usages  in  this  verse  is  seen 
especially  in  the  endings  of  the  hexameter  and  of  the  pentameter, 
the  treatment  of  the  verse  caesura,  the  relative  proportion  of 
dactyls  and  spondees  and  their  arrangement,  in  care  in  avoiding 
harsh  elisions,  especially  those  of  a  long  vowel  before  a  short 
one,^  middle  and  end  rime  in  both  hexameter  and  pentameter, 
in  alliteration,  repeated  sounds  and  syllables,  and  other  euphonic 
embellishments,'^  and  in  the  tendency,  culminating  in  Ovid,  to 
make  each  distich  a  complete  thought  in  itself.  Some  of  the 
results  of  studies  along  some  of  these  various  lines  are  given 
below,  virtually  in  the  form  in  which  they  were  published  in 
PAPA.,  Vol.  34  (1903),  pp.  xxviii-xxx. 

1  Cf.  the  exhaustive  studies  in  Hosius,  p.  180.  Ovid  avoids  eliding  monosylla- 
bles almost  entirely ;  cf.  Winboldt,  Latin  Hexa?neter  Verse,  p.  177. 

2Cf.  the  richly  illustrated  article  of  B.  O.  Foster  "On  Certain  Euphonic  Em- 
bellishments in  the  Verse  of  Propertius  "  in  TAPA.,  Vol.  40  (1909),  pp.  31-62. 


INTRODUCTION  63 


I     Hexameters 


(i)  Monosyllabic  endings  :  Catullus  and  Propertius  employ 
them  frequently  ;  Tibullus  and  Ovid,  very  rarely. 

(a)  Catullus  has  13  examples,  including  pronouns,  forms  oi  esse. 
and  forms  of  res.     Four  times  his  verse  ends  in  two  monosyllables. 

(J))  Of  the  31  cases  in  Propertius,  20  are  a  singular  form  of 
the  first  or  second  personal  pronoun,  5  are  forms  of  gut ;  4, 
forms  of  esse  ;  fies  occurs  once,  and  iam  once. 

(<r)  Ovid  in  the  Amores  (which  are  used  for  these  tests)  has 
4  cases,  viz.  a  form  of  esse,  and  me,  twice  each. 

{d)  Tibullus  (Bks.  i  and  2,  which  are  the  only  safe  ground 
for  an  investigation  of  his  usage)  has  sini  once.  No  instance 
occurs  in  the  book  of  Lygdamus. 

(2)  Polysyllabic  endings.  These  are  more  rare.  They  are 
occasional  in  Catullus  ;  twice  Ovid  uses  a  quadrisyllable  proper 
name;   Propertius  has  similar  instances;  Tibullus  has  none. 

(3)  Spondees  still  play  an  important  part  in  the  hexameters 
of  Catullus,  whose  taste  is  like  that  of  Ennius.  This  appears 
most  strikingly  at  the  end  of  the  verse.  He  has  13  spondaic 
verses  out  of  322  ;  of  these  one  ends  in  a  monosyllable,  one  in  a 
trisyllable,  the  other  1 1  in  words  of  not  less  than  four  syllables. 
68,  87  has  5  spondees  ;  1 16,  3  is  worthy  of  Ennius  himself,  being 
composed  entirely  of  spondees. 

In  the  other  elegists,  however,  the  proportion  of  dactyls  and 
spondees  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  other  Augustan  writers. 

Tibullus  employs  the  dactylic  beginning  of  the  hexameter  in 
the  proportion  of  about  four  of  these  to  one  beginning  with  a 
spondee.^ 

Cd)  Rime.  A  species  of  middle,  or  Leonine,  rime  begins  to 
be  noted  in  Catullus,  and  continues  throughout  the  whole  group 
of  writers,  being  apparently  an  extension,  or  an  echo,  of  the  very 
common  similar  rime  in  the  pentameter.  In  the  hexameter  this 
rime  occurs  between  the  last  syllable  of  the  verse  and  that  pre- 

^Cf.  Hennig,  Untersuchungen  zu  Tibull  (1905),  p.  19. 


64  ROMAN   ELEGIAC   POETS 

ceding  the  verse  caesura,  i.e.  between  the  endings  of  the  two 
parts  of  the  verse.  Not  less  than  41  examples  of  this  may  be 
found  even  in  Catullus,  e.g.  96,  i  :  Si  quicquam  mutis  ||  gratuin 
acceptunive  sepidcris.  The  percentage  of  such  cases  increases  in 
Tibullus,  reaches  a  maximum  in  Propertius,  and  decreases  again 
in  Ovid. 

When  this  is  combined  with  the  common  pentameter  middle 
rime,  and  is  at  the  same  time  an  end  rime,  we  have  a  still  greater 
refinement,  as  in  Tibullus,  1,  9,  25-26  :  — 

ipse  deus  tacito 
pennisit  lingua  ministro 
ederet  ut  inulto 
libera  verba  mero.^ 

In  many  cases,  though  the  rime  is  imperfect,  the  similarity  of 
sounds,  as  of  a  long  vowel  to  a  diphthong,  or  of  one  vowel  fol- 
lowed by  s  to  another  vowel  and  s,  produces  a  pleasing  effect, 
which  was  frequently  sought  by  these  poets,  e.g.  Tibullus,  2,  5, 
69-70  :  — 

qj(as(fue  .Anieua  sacras 

Tiburs  per  Jiumina  sortes 
portarit  sicca 
pertuleritque  sinu. 

The  variety  of  these  effects  is  countless. 

(5)  Verse  caesura.  This  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  indi- 
vidual taste  of  the  different  authors. 

ia)  Catullus  is  fairly  orthodox,  with  267  out  of  318  hexameters 
exhibiting  the  penthemimeral  caesura,  30  the  hephthemimeral, 
16  the  feminine  caesura  in  the  third  foot,  and  5  the  so-called 
"  bucolic  "  diaeresis.  One  or  two  verses  have  no  verse  caesura 
at  all. 

(^)  But  Tibullus,  with  nearly  double  the  number  of  verses, 
shows  his  fondness  for  the  hephthemimeral  caesura  by  using  it 
five  times  as  often,  152  times  in  all,  32  times  without  the  cus- 
tomary accompanying  trithemimeral.     A  frequent  added  refine 

1  Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  3,  2,  17-18 ;   Prop,  i,  6,  17-18. 


INTROUUCTION  65 

ment  is  a  rime  subsisting  between  the  syllables  preceding  the 
two  caesuras;  e.g.  i,  i,  47  :  — 

aut,  gelidas 
hibernus  aquas 
cum  fuderit  auster. 

In  Still  other  cases  there  is  a  similar  sound,  but  not  a  perfect 
rime. 

Tibullus  employs  an  even  smaller  proportion  of  feminine  cae- 
suras, 19  in  all,  but  has  also  19  bucolic  diaereses,  which  looks 
as  if  he  did  not  regard  these  as  blemishes. 

(r)  Lygdamus  is  so  orthodox  as  to  be  positively  dull,  having 
but  10  of  his  145  hexameters  that  are  not  of  the  penthemimeral 
type.  Of  these,  7  are  perfect  trithemimeral-hephthemimeral 
cases,  I   is  a  feminine,  and  3  are  bucolics. 

II.    Pentameters 

All  the  elegists  show  in  these  rather  more  care  than  in  the 
hexameters. 

(i)  Monosyllabic  endings.  Catullus  has  one  instance;  Ti- 
bullus, Lygdamus,  and  Ovid,  none;  Propertius,  with  character- 
istic independence,  4,  all  being  of  the  same  form,  viz.  sat  est. 

(2)  Verse  endings  longer  than  a  dissyllable.  Catullus  has  83 
trisyllabic  endings,  Tibullus  but  22  out  of  twice  as  many  verses, 
Lygdamus  but  3.  Of  polysyllabic  endings  Catullus  has  92  (18 
pentasyllable,  and  i  heptasyllabic),  Tibullus  23,  Lygdamus  but 
7.  Indeed,  Lygdamus  in  such  matters  of  formal  comparison 
usually  more  than  holds  his  own.  In  Ovid  the  law  of  a  uni- 
formly dissyllabic  ending  is  thoroughly  established. 

(3)  Endings  of  first  half  of  pentameter.  The  tendency  toward 
the  dissyllable  here  is  not  so  completely  followed.  Catullus  has 
36  monosyllabic  endings,  Tibullus  7.  Almost  as  many  trisyl- 
lables as  dissyllables  appear  in  Tibullus  ;  but  Ovid  holds  closely 
to  the  dissyllable. 

ROM.    EL.    POETS  —  "; 


66  ROMAN    ELEGIAC   POETS 

(4)  The  separation  of  the  two  halves  of  the  pentameter  be- 
comes increasingly  careful.  In  Catullus  there  are  18  cases 
where  they  are  run  together  by  elision  ;  e.g.  67,  44 :  — 

speraret  nee  lingua  in  esse  nee  aurieu/ain. 

(5)  The  preference  for  dactyls  or  spondees  in  the  first  half 
varies.  Catullus  seems  slightly  to  prefer  verses  of  the  form, 
dactyl,  spondee,  long  syllable  ;  but  the  form,  spondee,  spondee, 
long  syllable  {i.e.  5  successive  long  syllables)  is  a  close  second, 
which  can  hardly  be  true  of  any  of  his  successors.  Next  comes 
the  form,  spondee,  dactyl,  long  syllable  ;  last,  dactyl,  dactyl,  long 
syllable. 

In  Tibullus,  however,  there  is  an  overwhelming  preference 
for  opening  the  verse  with  a  dactyl. 

(6)  Middle  rime.  22  per  cent  of  the  pentameters  of  Catullus 
exhibit  this,  and  17  per  cent  have  similar  endings.  In  the  later 
writers  the  proportion  frequently  far  exceeds  this.  Often,  too, 
this  rime  is  combined  with  the  same  phenomenon  in  adjacent 
hexameters,  to  a  noteworthy  extent.  In  Propertius,  2,  34  (a 
poem  of  94  vv.),  there  are  38  instances  of  the  middle  rime,  and 
the  6  consecutive  vv.,  85-90,  have  it  throughout. 

(7)  End  rime.  There  are  over  200  cases  in  Catullus,  Tibul- 
lus, and  Lygdamus,  fewest  of  all  in  Lygdamus.  Propertius  has 
I  in  every  14  verses.  Sometimes  they  occur  in  triplets.  Pro- 
pertius has  one  quadruplet  rime. 

43.  The  studies  of  Haupt,  a  half  century  ago,  showed  that 
Catullus  was  relatively  careless  in  allowing  die  elision  of  a  long 
syllable  before  a  short  one.^  The  recent  elaborate  studies  of 
Siedow^  show  that  Ovid  .was  more  careful  than  either  of  the 
other  three  elegists  in  avoiding  elision,  as  well  as  in  avoiding  a 
plurality  of  elisions  in  a  single  verse  and  the  elision  of  long  syl- 
lables or  diphthongs  ;  that  Catullus  is  most  free  of  them  all  in 

1  Cf.  Haupt,  Opuscula,  Vol.  i,  pp.  88  sqq. 

2  De  elisionis  apkaeresis  hiatus  usu  in  hexametris  Latinis  ab  Ennii  usque  ad 
Ovidii  tempora,  191 1,  with  valuable  bibliography  and  tabular  statements. 


INTRODUCTION  67 

eliding  monosyllables ;  and  that  Lygdamus  leads  in  avoiding 
hiatus,  not  exhibiting  a  single  instance  of  that  phenomenon.^ 
Similarly  interesting  studies  can  be  made  with  reference  to  the 
arrangement  of  words  in  the  verse  as  a  whole,  or  in  different 
parts  of  the  verse. ^  Diaeresis  is  particularly  common  in  solvo 
and  its  compounds. 

In  other  matters,  e.g.  prosody,  progress  will  be  noted  after 
Catullus.  Lengthening  the  final  short  syllable  in  the  thesis  occurs 
rarely  in  Tibullus.^  Shortening  final  -0  in  verbs  is  the  opposite 
phenomenon.  In  the  treatment  of  quantities  before  a  mute  and 
liquid  Tibullus  is  quite  orthodox.* 

iCf.,  on  the  hiatus  in  CatuUus,  Friedrich's  note  on  Cat.  3,  16.  Cartault  thinks 
Tibullus  shows  greater  looseness  in  elision  in  Book  2  than  in  Book  i  as  well  as  in 
other  metrical  matters;  but  Horschelmann  undertakes  to  show  a  distinct  advance 
in  these  respects  in  Book  2  (cf.  elision  tables  in  Hosius,  p.  180). 

2  Cf.  Braum,  De  Monosyllabis  ante  caesuras  hexametri  Latini  collocatis,  Marburg, 
1906;  Isidor  Hilberg,  Z3/>  Gesetze  der  Wortstellung  im  Pentameter  dcs  Ovid ;  Horn- 
stein,  Die  Wortstellung  im  Pentameter  des  Tibull  und  Ps.-'Ubull,  Czernovitch, 
1909  ;  Petrus  Rasi,  De  Elegiae  Latinae  Compositione  et  Forma,  Padua,  1894;  Smith, 
pp.  103  sqq. 

3  For  the  instances  of  the  same  in  Propertius  cf.  Hosius,  p.  184. 

4Cf.  Rasi,  de  positione  debili,  etc.;  Brenner,  Die  prosodischen  Funktionen  inlau- 
tender  muta  cum  liquida  im  Hexameter  und  Pentameter  des  Catull,  Tibull,  und 
Properz;  Winbolt,  Latin  Hexameter  Verse,  1903. 


CATULLUS    MSS.    SIGNS 

V  =  Codex"  Veronensis"  =  the  con- 
sensus of  0  and  G. 

0   =  Codex  Oxoniensis. 

G  =  Codex  Sangermanensis. 

R  =  Codex  Romanus. 

M  =  Codex  Venetus. 

D   =  Codex  Datanus. 

w  =  late  or  inferior  Mss.,  or  correc° 
tions. 


68 


CATVLLI    CARMINA 


65 


Etsi  me  adsiduo  confectum  cura  dolore 
sevocat  a  doctis,  Ortale,  virginibus, 

nee  potis  est  dulcis  musarum  expromere  fetus 
mens  animi :  tantis  fluctuat  ipsa  malis  : 


65.    I.    confectum  G  defectu  0. 


65 


The  Ortalus  to  whom  this  elegy 
is  addressed  was  probably  the  cele- 
brated orator,  Quintus  Hortensius 
(H)Ortalus,  the  friend  and  rival 
of  Cicero.  It  was  written  to  ac- 
company some  other  poem  or 
poems,  particularly,  as  seems  most 
likely,  No.  66.  Written  about 
60  B.C.  For  Hortensius  as  a  poet 
cf.  95,  3  (written  at  a  later  period)  ; 
Cell.  19,  9,  7  ;  Ovid,  Trist.  2,  441  ; 
Plin.  Ep.  5,  3,  5. 

The  elegy  is  in  one  long  para- 
graph, with  parenthetical  address 
to  his  brother,  who  has  lately  died. 
Catullus  is  in  no  mood  to  write  in 
his  usual  vein,  he  says ;  but,  that 
Ortalus  may  not  think  him  forget- 
ful of  his  request,  he  sends  the  ac- 
companying translation  from  Cal- 
limachus. 


1 .  Etsi :  the  apodosis  begins  at 
V.  15  ;  cf.  Ciris^  i-ii. 

2.  doctis  .  .  .  virginibus  :  the 
Muses;  cf.  35,  16:  Sapphka 
paella  miisa  doctior ;  Tib.  3,  4, 45  ; 
Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  6_  :  Mart,  i,  61, 
I.  At  this  (Alexandrian)  period 
of  his  poetry  Catullus  with  special 
fitness  calls  his  muse  '■'■  dochis''^ ; 
cf.  Intr.  §  16. 

3.  potis  est :  for  other  examples 
of  the  uncontracted  form  of  potest 
cf.  76,  24;  Lachmann's  Lucr.  5, 
880.  —  fetus  :  for  the  same  idea 
of  literary  creations  cf.  Quint.  10, 
4,  2  :  scripta  nostra  ta/nqnam  re- 
tentes  fetus. 

4.  mens  animi ;  cf.  Lucr.  3,  61 5  ; 
Cic.  De  Fin.  5,  36  :  animi  partis^ 
quae  princeps  est,  quaeque  mens 
nominatur .  — On  the  form  of  this 
verse  and  v.  8  note  Intr.  §  42,  II 
(6). 


69 


65.  5] 


CATVLLl 


5        namque  mei  nuper  Lethaeo  gurgite  fratris 
pallidulum  manans  adltiit  unda  pedem, 
Troia  Rhoeteo  quern  subter  litore  tellus 

ereptuni  nostris  obterit  ex  oculis. 
adloquar,  audiero  numquam  tua  facta  loquentem, 
lo  numquam  ego  te,  vita  frater  amabilior, 

adspiciam  posthac.     at  carte  semper  amabo, 
semper  maesta  tua  carmina  morte  canam, 
qualia  sub  densis  ramorum  concinit  umbris 

g.  omitted  in  VR  adloquar  audiero  numquam  tua  loquentem  Dw  the  lacuna 
between  in^  ««</ lo(|uenttm  variously  supplied  as  facta  (D  man.  sec),  verba, 
fata  ft).  Lachniann,  folUnved  by  Haitpt-  Vahlen,  believed  there  was  a  lacuna  in 
V  of  seven  verses  after  8,  and  supplied  before  g  six  verses  from  68,  20-24,  and 
gj-gd.  II.  at  D  aut  V.  12.  canam  or  legam  to  tegam  VR  {in  R  the  verse 
reads :    semp  mesta  tua  carmine  morte  tcgam). 


5.  Lethaeo  gurgite  :  best  taken 
as  abl.  of  source;  cf.  v.  6,  n. 
This  seems  to  be  the  first  reference 
to  the  Lethe  myth  in  Roman 
poetry  ;  cf.  Tib.  3,  3,  10.  — fratris  : 
probably  an  older  brother.  He 
died  in  the  Troad.  and  was  buried 
there;  cf.  68,  go-ioo  ;    loi. 

6.  pallidulum:  a  pathetic  di- 
minutive, implying  fond  tender- 
ness ;  probably  either  coined  by 
Catullus  or  borrowed  from  the 
speech  of  everyday  life  ;  not  used 
elsewhere  before  the  silver  Latin 
period;  cf.  Intr.  §  17;  Juv.  10, 
82 ;  Plainer,  Diinin.  in  Catidl. 
—  manans:  Catullus's  conceptions 


(Charon's) ;  but  the  emphasis  of 
i)ia)ia)is  adliiit  is  best  preserved 
if  we  assume  that  he  meant  that, 
escaping  from  its  ordinary  bounds, 
the  flood  of  Lethe,  this  stray  wave 
had  borne  the  innocent  youth  all 
too  early  to  the  waters  of  ob- 
livion. 

7.  Rhoeteo :  celebrated  also  as 
the  site  of  the  grave  of  Ajax.  —  sub- 
ter :  the  use  of  this  preposition  with 
the  abl.  is  very  rare,  hardly  occur- 
ring elsewhere  except  in  Vergil ; 
cf.  Verg.  Aen.  g,  514. 

9.  audiero :  sometimes  a  fut. 
perf.  is  used  with  no  appreciable 
difference   in   meaning   from    that 


of    underworld    geography    were       of  the    fut.  ;    cf.    Prop.   2,  5,  22 ; 


probably  at  least  as  hazy  as  those 
of  all  the  Roman  poets  with  re- 
gard to  terrestrial  geography  (cf. 
66,  12,  n).  He  may  have  pictured 
his  brother  as  fording  Lethe,  or 
being     ferried     over     in    a     skiff 


Plaut.  Most.  526:  Tib.  i,  i.  29,  n. 

10.  numquam  belongs  to  both 
adloquar  and  audiero. 

11.  posthac  seems  to  indicate 
that  his  brother's  death  was  quite 
recent. 


70 


CARMINA 


L65,  22 


15 


20 


Daulias  absumpti  fata  gemens  Ityli : 
sed  tamen  in  tantis  macroribus,  Ortale,  mitto 

haec  expressa  tibi  carmina  Battiadae, 
ne  tua  dicta  vagis  nequiquam  credita  ventis 

effluxisse  meo  forte  putes  animo, 
ut  missum  sponsi  furtivo  munere  malum 

procLirrit  casto  virginis  e  gremio, 
quod  miserae  oblitae  molli  sub  veste  locatum, 

dum  adventu  matris  prosilit,  excutitur  : 


14.  Daulias  =  Procne,  or,  ac- 
cording to  another  myth,  Philo- 
mela, from  Daulis,  the  scene  of 
the  Tereus  myth.  — Ityli :  accord- 
ing to  a  Homeric  myth,  Itylus,  son 
of  Zethus  and  Aedon,  was  killed 
by  his  mother  by  mistake,  and  she 
became  a  nightingale.  When  the 
Tereus  myth  was  developed,  the 
name  of  the  boy  was  given  as  Itys. 
As  the  two  myths  are  essentially 
one,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  name 
of  the  former  should  be  transferred 
to  the  latter,  perhaps  under  the 
idea  that  it  was  a  diminutive 
of  Itys ;  cf.  German  Willy cheii, 
etc. 

15.  sed  tamen:  the  conclusion 
of  the  periodic  sentence  begun  in 
V.  I .  —  in  tantis  maeroribus  :  note 
the  concessive  force  of  the  con- 
struction. The  plural  expresses 
mere  poetic  intensity. 

16.  expressa:  'translated.'  — 
carmina:  'verses':  a  single  coup- 
let may  be  a  carnteu ;  cf.  64, 
383  ;  Ovid,  Sapph.  6  ;  Prop.  2,  13, 
25,  n.  on  tres  .  .  .  libelli.  At  anv 
rate   we   have    no    translation    of 


Callimachus  in  this  collection  ex- 
cept No.  66.  —  Battiadae  :  the 
celebrated  elegiac  poet  Callima- 
chus, who  claimed  to  be  a  descend- 
ant of  Battus.  the  founder  of  Gy- 
rene. It  was  certainly  true  in  a 
general  sense,  as  Callimachus  was 
a  native  of  Cyrene  ;  cf.  1 16,  2. 

17.  tua  dicta:  implies  a  previ- 
ous request  on  the  part  of  Ortalus 
for  some  poem,  whether  a  transla- 
tion from  Callimachus  or  some- 
thing else.  —  nequiquam  :  best 
taken  with  credita;  cf  30,  10;  the 
usual  medium  of  communication 
by  sound  is  "  ventis.'''' 

19.  malum:  the  most  common 
gift  of  lovers  ;  cf.  Verg.  Ec.  3.  64  : 
malo /ne  Galatea  petit ;  71:  aiirca 
mala  decern  ntisi ;  Prop,  i,  3,  24: 
fiirtiva  cavis  poma  dabain  inani- 
bus ;  the  myth  of  the  apple  of  dis- 
cord, etc. 

20.  Cf  the  Latin  proverb  quoted 
by  Festus,  p.  165  :  nee  nutlieri  nee 
gremio  credi  oportet ;  quod  ple- 
rn/nqne,  he  adds,  in  gremio  posito, 
cum  in  obliinonem  venernnt  pro- 
pere  exsurgentium,  procidunt. 


71 


65.  23] 


CATVLLI 


atque  illud  prono  praeceps  agitur  decursu, 
huic  manat  tristi  conscius  ore  rubor. 


66 


Omnia  qui  magni  dispexit  lumina  mundi, 
qui  stellarum  ortus  comperit  atque  obitus, 

66.    I.    dispexit  «  despexit  V.     2.   obitus  w  habitus  V. 


23.  The  rhythm,  including  the 
alliteration,  pro/io  praeceps,  and 
the  spondaic  ending  of  the  verse, 
is  admirably  adapted  to  express 
the  bounce  of  the  apple  and  the 
astonishment  and  confusion  of  the 
girl.     Cf.  68,  59. 

24.  huic:  contrasted  with  illud 
(v.  23).  —  tristi:   •rueful."' 

66 

There  is  little  doubt  that  this 
is  the  poem  referred  to  in  No.  65, 
viz.  the  translation  from  Callima- 
chus  sent  to  Ortalus.  The  mea- 
ger fragments  of  the  original 
BepevtKv/s  riAoKa/Aos  of  Callima- 
chus  indicate  that  this  elegy  of 
Catullus  was  not  a  literal  trans- 
lation, though  it  was  a  work  of 
little  originality.  All  the  char- 
acteristic vices  of  the  Alexandrian 
type  of  elegy  are  here  illustrated 
better,  perhaps,  than  in  any  other 
existing  Latin  poem,  —  the  arti- 
ficiality of  tone,  the  far-fetched, 
and  often  obscure,  allusions,  the 
adulation  of  the  court,  the  general 


air  of  superior  learning  appropri- 
ate to  the  "■  doctns  poeta.''^  Its 
interest  is  accordingly  greater 
from  the  standpoint  of  literary 
history  \\\zxv  per  se.  Cf.  Lamarre, 
Vol.  2,  p.  560. 

The  legend  upon  which  the 
elegy  is  based  is  referred  to  by 
Hyginus,  Astr.  2,  24  :  vovisse 
Berenice/t,  si  victor  Ptolomaeus 
redisset,  se  crinem  detonsuram, 
quo  veto  datnnataiii  crinem  in 
Vefteris  Arsinoes  Zephyritidis  po- 
suisse  templo  eumque  posiero  die 
non  comparuisse.  Quod  factum 
cum  rex  aegre  ferret,  Conon 
mat/iematic7is,  ut  ante  diximus, 
cupiens  inire  gratiam  regis  crinem 
inter  sidera  videri  conlocatum  et 
quasdani  vacuas  a  figura  septeni 
Stellas  ostendit  quas  esse  fingeret 
crinem. 

Ptolemy  Euergetes  (king  of 
Egypt,  247-222  B.C.),  soon  after 
his  marriage  to  Berenice.  II,  was 
compelled  to  go  on  an  expedition 
against  Seleucus  II  of  Syria.  To 
insure  the  safe  return  of  her  hus- 


72 


CARMINA 


[66,  4 


flammeus  ut  rapidi  solis  nitor  obscuretur, 
ut  cedant  certis  sidera  temporibus, 


band  the  young  bride  vowed  to 
the  gods  a  part  of  her  fine  head  of 
hair.  Upon  the  return  of  Ptolemy 
the  vow  was  duly  performed,  and 
the  hair  was  placed  in  the  temple 
of  Arsinoe  on  the  promontory  of 
2ephyrion,  not  far  from  Alexan- 
dria. When  it  was  discovered,  next 
morning,  that  the  hair  had  dis- 
appeared from  the  temple,  the 
royal  astronomer  Conon  seized 
the  opportunity  to  declare  that  he 
had  already  discovered  it  in  the 
heavens  as  a  constellation  ;  and 
to  this  day  the  group  of  stars  is 
known  under  the  appellation  Coina 
Berenices. 

The  elegy  is  spoken  by  the 
hair  itself  in  the  first  person,  and 
is  sometimes  playful,  sometimes 
petulant,  sometimes  gently  ironical 
in  its  tone  :  i-8 :  'In  the  heavens 
Conon  discovered  me,  Berenice's 
hair;  9-14:  which  she  vowed  to 
the  gods  when  as  a  bride  she 
was  obliged  to  let  her  husband  go 
off  to  war.  15-20  :  Despite  the 
tears  of  brides,  they  really  love 
their  husbands  dearly.  21-32  : 
Was  it  a  separation  from  a 
brother  merely  that  you  so 
dreaded  ?  What  then  became 
so  suddenly  of  your  well-known 
courage  ?  Was  it  not  rather  the 
anguish  of  a  lover  at  the  thought 
of  parting  ?  33-38  :  Then  you 
vowed  me  to  the  gods  on  behalf 
of  his  safe  return  ;  and  here  I  am 
among  the  immortals  paying  your 


vow.  39-50 :  It  grieved  me  sorely 
to  leave  your  head  ;  but  how  could 
I  resist  the  power  of  steel  ?  That 
power  has  even  leveled  mountains. 
Cursed  be  the  inventors  of  steel  ! 
51-56  :  It  was  a  .sad  day  for  my 
sister  locks  when  the  winged  horse 
of  Arsinoe  came  to  bear  me  away 
to  the  goddess  his  mistress.  57- 
68  :  She  sent  him  after  me  that 
I  might  honor  her  as  a  new  con- 
stellation like  that  made  from 
Ariadne's  golden  tresses,  and 
might  be  beside  Virgo,  Leo,  Cal- 
listo  and  Bootes.  69-78  :  But, 
no  matter  how  ungrateful  I  may 
appear,  I  cannot  feel  as  much  joy 
at  my  new  honors  as  sorrow  at 
being  torn  from  the  head  of  my 
mistress,  and  from  all  the  royal 
perfumes  there  enjoyed.  79-88  : 
In  compensation,  ye  brides,  offer 
unguents  to  me  on  your  wedding 
days,  ye  who  are  worthy,  and  may 
love  ever  abide  with  you  !  89-92  : 
As  to  you,  my  queen,  when  you 
propitiate  Venus  on  holidays,  do 
not  forget  me.  93-94  :  But  what 
are  stars  to  me  ?  Would  that  I 
were  back  upon  thy  head  ! ' 

I.  qui  :  the  antecedent  is  ille 
Cotton  {y.j). —  dispexit :  'distin- 
guished' ;  cf.  V.  7,  n. 

3.  Conon  is  said  to  have 
brought  together  the  earlier  Egyp- 
tian records  of  eclipses. 

4.  This  verse  refers  to  the  an- 
nual disappearance  of  certain  con- 
stellations   at   fixed   times.       Cf. 


7i 


66,  5  J 


CATVLLI 


lO 


lit  Triviam  furtim  sub  Latmia  saxa  relegans 

dulcis  amor  gyro  devocet  aerio, 
idem  me  ille  Conon  caelesti  in  lumine  vidit 

e  Bereniceo  vertice  caesariem 
fulgentem  clare,  quam  multis  ilia  dearum 

levia  protendens  bracchia  poUicitast, 
qua  rex  tempestate  novo  auctus  hymenaeo 

vastatum  finis  iverat  Assyrios, 


5.   relegans    <<>    religans    V.  7.    in    lumine     Foss     celesti     numine   V, 

9.    multis  ilia  dearum  VR  cunctis  ilia  deorum  Haupt, 


Hor.  Car.  3,  i,  27;  and  Verg. 
Aeti.  3,  516,  where  pbiviasque 
Hyadas  refers  to  the  usual  bad 
weather  at  the  season  of  the  year 
when  the  Hyades  are  in  a  certain 
position. 

5.  Triviam:  the  goddess  of  the 
crossroads,  the  Latin  name  for 
the  Greek  Hecate,  i.e.  the  moon 
as  goddess  of  the  night.  ^Latmia 
saxa :  the  grotto  on  Mt.  Latmus 
in  Caria,  where  Selene  used  to 
meet  her  loved  Endymion.  For 
the  significance  of  the  myth  cf. 
H.  and  T.  §61. 

7.  Conon :  a  native  of  Samos ; 
astronomer  of  the  court  of  Ptol- 
emy ;  friend  of  Archimedes ;  re- 
puted author  of  several  astronomi- 
cal works,  which  are  not  extant. 
The  rather  fulsome  flattery  of  the 
court  poet  is  responsible,  however, 
for  so  many  things  being  attrib- 
uted to  him  in  vv.  1-6.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  was  of  minor 
importance  as  an  astronomer, 
compared  with  such  famous 
Alexandrians  as  Aristarchus  and 


Hipparchus.  Cf.  Verg.  Ec.  3, 
40-42  :  in  medio  duo  signa,  Conon 
ct  —  qiiis  fuit  alter.,  descripsit 
radio  totian  qui  gentibus  orbeni, 
tenipora  quae  messor,  quae  curvus 
arator  haberet  ? 

8.  e  .  .  .  vertice  :  sc.  detonsum. 

9.  multis  .  .  .  dearum :  cf.  v. 
33  ;  it  was  the  custom  for  women 
to  offer  their  hair  to  certain  god- 
desses ;  then  in  making  the  vow  all 
the  divinities  would  be  included ; 
so  there  is  no  contradiction  be- 
tween the  two  verses ;  cf.  Serv. 
Georg.  I,  21  :  more  pontificum 
.  .  .  post  speciales  deos  .  .  . 
generalitcr  omnia  numina  invoca- 
bantur.  Cf.  Friedrich's  note  on 
this  passage. 

10.  protendens  bracchia:  for 
the  position  see  that  of  the 
'praying  boy'  in  the  Berlin  Mu- 
seum ;  cf.  Von  Sybel,  p.  297. 

11.  novo  I  auctus  hymenaeo  : 
cf.  Intr.  §  43. 

12.  kssyixo^  =  Syrios ;  cf.  the 
introduction  to  this  elegy  ;  also  v. 
36  ;  Tib.  I,  3,  7,  n. 


74 


CARMINA 


[66,  27 


^dulcia  nocturnae  portans  vestigia  rixae 
quam  de  virgineis  gcsserat  exuviis. 
15      estne  novis  nuptis  odio  Venus?  atine  parentum 
frustrantur  falsis  gaudia  lacrimulis, 
ubertim  thalami  quas  intra  limina  fundunt? 

non,  ita  me  divi,  vera  gemiint,  iuerint. 
id  mea  me  multis  docuit  regina  querellis 
20  invisente  novo  proelia  torva  viro. 

at  tu  non  orbum  luxti  deserta  cubile, 

sed  fratris  cari  flebile  discidium  ? 
quam  penitus  maestas  exedit  cura  medullas ! 
ut  tibi  tum  toto  pectore  sollicitae 
25      sensibus  ereptis  mens  excidit !  at  te  ego  certe 
cognoram  a  parva  virgine  magnanimam. 
anne  bonum  oblita  es  facinus  quo  regium  adepta's 


25.    te  AvatUius  ;  omitted  in  V. 


26.    magnanimam  D  magnanima  V. 


14.    de  :  '  for.'' 

16.  frustrantur:  sc.  nitptae.— 
lacrimulis :  the  contemptuous  di- 
minutive :   '  crocodile  tears.' 

17.  ubertim:  the  stock  adverb 
with  verbs  of  weeping. 

t8.  ita  .  .  .  iiierint :  cf.  Tib. 
2,  5,  63,  n.  Propertius  has  the 
.same  shortened  form  of  this  verb 
in  2,  23,  22  ;   cf.  L.  891. 

20.  invisente  :  he  '  saw '  the 
struggle  as  we  say  a  soldier  '  saw 
service.' 

21.  at  tu :  'Do  you  say?'  — 
luxti  =  luxisti;  similar  shortened 
forms  in  Catullus  are  tristi  (v.  30), 
duxti  (91,  9),  prornisti  (no,  3), 
etc. 

22.  fratris  cari :  a  bantering 
reference  to  the  custom  whereby 


the  Egyptian  kings  sometimes 
married  their  sisters.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  Berenice  and  her  husband 
were  cousins.     Cf.  P.W.  284. 

23.  The  reply  to  the  preceding 
question  extends  through  v.  32 ; 
it  was  not  sisterly,  but  conjugal 
love.  —  cura  :  '  love  '  (for  thy  hus- 
band).—  medullas:  cf.  35,  15: 
igties  interiorem  edu7it  )/iednlla>/i ; 
45,  16:  7g)n's  inoUibiis  urdet  in 
medtdlis;  Verg.  Aen.  4,  66:  est 
mollis  flamma  niedullas. 

26.  a  parva  virgine :  '  from 
girlhood  ' ;  cf.  Ter.  Andr.  35  :  a 
parvolo.  —  magnanimam :  '  cour- 
ageous.' 

27.  facinus:  the  story  is  found 
in  Justinus  26,  3.  2  :  Apama,  the 
mother    of    Berenice,    wished    to 


,75 


66,  28] 


CATVLLI 


coniugium,  quod  non  fortior  ausit  alis  ? 
sed  turn  maesta  virum  mittens  quae  verba  locuta's ! 
30  luppiter,  ut  tristi  lumina  saepe  manu  ! 

quis  te  mutavit  tantus  deus  ?  an  quod  amantes 

non  longe  a  caro  corpore  abesse  volunt  ? 
atque  ibi  me  cunctis  pro  dulci  coniuge  divis 
non  sine  taurino  sanguine  pollicita's, 
35      si  reditum  tetulisset.     is  haut  in  tempore  longo 
captam  Asiam  Aegypti  finibus  addiderat. 
quis  ego  pro  factis  caelesti  reddita  coetu 
pristina  vota  novo  munere  dissoluo. 

28.    quod  non  fortior  VR  quo  D  fortius  Muretus. 

marry  her  to  Demetrius,  a  brother 
of  king  Antigonus  of  Macedonia, 
instead  of  regarding  her  previous 
betrothal  to  Ptolemy.  But  soon 
after  the  arrival  of  Demetrius  at 
Cyrene  he  became  the  paramour  of 
the  mother,  furnishing  Berenice 
an  opportunity  to  head  a  band  of 
soldiers  who  took  the  life  of  her 
would-be  husband,  and  so  left  her 
free  to  marry  Ptolemy.  Apama 
was  probably  spared. 

28.  quod  .  .  .  alis  :  '  which  many 
another  better  adapted  for  deeds 
of  manly  prowess  would  not  ven- 
ture.'—  fortior  is  essentially  a 
word  of  masculine  hardihood,  and 
is  here  contrasted  with  }nagna7ii- 
niam  (v.  26).  —  alis  =  alius:  the 
form  occurs  only  here  in  classical 
literature;  alid  (29,  15)  is  quite 
common  in  Lucretius. 

30.  luppiter:  cf.  v.  48  ;  i,  7; 
Hor.  Sat.  2,  1,43. — tristi  =  tri- 
visti;  cf.  V.  21,  n. 

31.  an:    the  first   part   of  the 


question  is  omitted,  as  commonly  : 
'  Was  it  indeed  any  god  at  all,  or 
rather  the  fact  that,'  etc.  ? 

33.  ibi:  temporal,  taking  up 
the  thread  of  the  story  broken 
off  with  V.  14.  —  cunctis  .  .  .  divis: 
cf.  V.  9,  n. 

34.  taurino  sanguine  :  probably 
a  part  of  the  promise. 

35.  tetulisset :  the  usual  early 
Latin  form  for  iiilisset ;  cf. 
LSHLG,  p.  99;  redttum  tetulis- 
set —  rediisset.  —  in  tempore  longo : 
A.  Tif^^t^  '-^'l--  ''^  -» 

36.  Asiam :  with  the  notorious 
geographical  vagueness  of  the  Ro- 
man poets.  The  famous  inscrip- 
tion discovered  at  the  Ethiopian 
city  Adule  states  that  not  only 
Asia  Minor,  but  also  other  parts 
of  the  continent,  even  beyond  the 
Euphrates,  were  subdued. 

37.  coetu :  dat. ;  a  form  found 
only  here  and  in  64,  385. 

38.  dissoliio :  cf.  exioluam,  v. 
74;   Intr.  §  43. 


76 


CARMINA 


[66,  50 


invita,  o  regina,  tuo  de  vertice  cessi, 
40  invita  :  adiuro  teque  tuumque  caput, 

digna  ferat  quod  siquis  inaniter  adiurarit : 

sed  qui  se  ferro  postulet  esse  parem  ? 
ille  quoque  eversus  mons  est  quern  maximum  in  orbe 
progenies  Thiae  clara  supervehitur, 
45      cum  Medi  peperere  novum  mare  cumque  inventus 
per  medium  classi  barbara  navit  Athon. 
quid  facient  crines,  cum  ferro  talia  cedant? 

luppiter,  ut  Chalybon  omne  genus  pereat, 
et  qui  principio  sub  terra  quaerere  venas 
50  institit  ac  ferri  frangere  duritiem ! 


39.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  6,  460  :  in- 
vitus,  regina,  tuo  de  litore  cessi. 

40.  adiuro  .  .  .  caput :  the 
fragment  of  Callimachus  (35  b, 
Schneider),  ctt^v  re  Kaprjv  w/xocra 
aov  re  /3iW,  shows  how  closely 
Catullus  here  followed  his  original, 
preserving  the  ace.  with  adiuro, 
a  construction  that  does  not  appear 
again  before  Vergil  (Aen.  12,  816: 
adiuro  Stygii  capid  implacabile 
font  is) . 

41.  Note  the  inverted  order. — 
digna  (ace.)  :  i.e.  poenani. 

42.  qui :  for  the  regular  sub- 
stantive ioxx^qtiis.  —  ferro:  refer- 
ring to  the  shears  that  clipped  the 
lock. 

43.  ille  .  .  .  mons  :  '  that  famous 
mountain,'  Athos.  —  quoque:  i.e. 
as  well  as  I,  a  hapless  lock  of  hair. 
—  eversus  :  sc.  ferro.  The  hyper- 
boles in  this  sentence  are  uttered 
naively  by  the  lock. 

44.  progenies  Thiae :  Helios. 


45.  Medi :  the  hosts  of  Xerxes. 
—  novum  mare :  the  canal  cut 
through  the  isthmus  of  Athos  at 
the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Greece. 

46.  navit :  cf.  64,  i  :  pitius  di- 
cuntur  liquidas  Neptuni  nasse  per 
undas. 

47.  That  the  mood  in  such 
questions  depends  on  the  feeling 
of  the  writer  is  shown  clearly  by 
a  comparison  of  Verg.  Ec.  3,  16: 
qiiid  doiinni  faciatit,  audent  cum 
talia  fur es?  Livy,  21,  10,  11  : 
dedeiims  ergo  Hannibalevi  ?  dicet 
aliquis. 

48.  luppiter:  cf.  v.  30,  n. ; 
Hor.  Sat.  2,  i,  42:  o  pater  et 
rex  luppiter,  ut  pereat  positum 
robigine  telum.  —  Chalybon  :  a  peo- 
ple of  Pontus,  celebrated  for  their 
skill  in  mining  and  iron-working. 

50.  ferri  .  .  .  duritiem :  =  fer- 
rujH  durum ;  cf.  Lucr.  5,  1241  :  aes 
atqjie  aurum  ferrumque  reper- 
tumst  et  simul  argenti  pondus ; 


77 


66.  51] 


CATVLLI 


abiunctae  paullo  ante  comae  mea  fata  sorores 
lugebant,  cum  se  Memnonis  Aethiopis 

unigena  inpellens  nictantibus  aera  pennis 
obtulit  Arsinoes  Locridos  ales  equus, 
55      isque  per  aetherias  me  tollens  avolat  umbras 
et  Veneris  casto  collocat  in  gremio. 

ipsa  suum  Zephyritis  eo  famulum  legarat, 

53.  nictantibus  Bentley  nutantibus  V  mutantibus  M  mitantibus,  motantibus, 
natantibus,  various  minor  aut/iorities.  54.  Locridos  Bentley  elocridicos  VR 
Cypridos  Bergk.     ales  D  alis  VR. 


2, 449  :  validi  silices  ac  duri  robora 
ferri  aeraque. 

51.  paullo  ante:  to  be  taken 
with  abiunctae  (sc.  a  me).  The 
bereavement  had  but  just  oc- 
curred, that  very  day.  For  the 
meter  see  Intr.  §  42,  I  (5)  {b). 

52.  Aethiopis  :  the  epithet  may 
have  significance  as  referring  to 
the  dark  color  of  Memnon's 
brother,  the  ales  equus  of  v.  54. 
Cf.  also  umbras  (v.  55). 

53.  unigena  :  '  own  brother,'  l.e. 
Emathion,  who,  like  Memnon,  was 
a  son  of  Eos  and  Tithonus ;  cf. 
64,  300.  The  rendering,  '  only- 
begotten  '  does  not  agree  with 
Ovid,  Alet.  13,  608-609:  par  iter 
sonuere  sorores  inn7imerae.  —  nic- 
tantibus :  the  imagery  has  a  rare 
charm. 

54.  Arsinoes:  Arsinoe  II, 
daughter  of  Ptolemy  I ;  wife  first 
of  Lysimachus,  king  of  Thrace, 
later  of  her  brother,  Ptolemy  Phila- 
delphus  (cf.  V.  22,  n.).  Among 
other  honors,  she  was  identified 
with  Venus,  and  a  temple  was 
erected  in  her  name  on  the  prom- 


ontory of  Zephyrion,  near  Alexan- 
dria, whence  is  derived  also  the 
name  Zephyritis  (v.  57).  —  Locri- 
dos :  it  is  possible  that  the  ap- 
pearance of  this  obscure  epithet 
here  may  be  due  to  confusion 
or  comparison  of  this  particular 
Zephyrion  with  the  more  famous 
Italian  promontory  of  the  same 
name  in  Bruttii,  which  from  early 
times  was  settled  by  the  Locrians. 
The  term  Cypridos,  if  it  can  be 
justified  critically  as  the  correct 
reading  here,  is  more  appropriate 
and  more  accurate  historically. 
Cf.  P.  W.  2,  1286.  —  ales  equus: 
probably  the  ostrich,  here  identi- 
fied with  Emathion  (cf.  n.  on  v. 
52)  ;  Pausanias(9,  31,  i)  describes 
the  service  rendered  to  Arsinoe 
by  an  ostrich :    rrjv   Se  ^Apcnvo-qv 

(TTpOvdo'i    <f>€p€L    ^a\Krj    TWV    OLTTTrj- 

vwv.  Others  understand  the  phrase 
to  refer  to  Zephyrus. 

57.  Zephyritis  :  cf.  n.  on  v.  54. 
—  famulum  :  i.e.  the  ales  equus  of 
V.  54,  the  ostrich.  Cf.  Ovid,  A/et. 
3,  229,  where  Actaeon's  hounds 
are  his  famuli ;  and  Manil.  4,  760, 


78 


CARMINA 


[66,  6s 


Graia  Canopiis  incola  litoribus. 
hie  iuveni  Ismario  ne  solum  in  lumine  caeli 
60  ex  Ariadneis  aurea  temporibus 

fixa  corona  foret,  sed  nos  quoque  fulgeremus 

devotae  flavi  vertieis  exuviae, 
uvidulam  a  fletu  cedentem  ad  templa  deum  me 
sidus  in  antiquis  diva  novum  posuit : 
65      virginis  et  saevi  contingens  namque  leonis 

59.  hie  iuveni  Isiimrio  Ellis  hi  dii  ven  ibi  vario  V  hi  <lij  venibi  {or  ven 
ibi)  vario  R  anhiei  ibi  //(///// iiivida  enim  Vahlen  nuinen  ibi  Kitschl  hie  liquid! 
Friedrich.       lumine    or   limine    w    mumine    R  numine   V. 


where  the  famulus  of  Cybele  is 
the  lion. 

58.  Graia:  referring  to  the 
Greek  ancestry  of  Arsinoe  as  com- 
pared to  her  ultimate  home  in 
Egypt  {Canopiis).  This  Greek 
woman  took  precedence  of  all  the 
members  of  the  royal  house  of 
Egypt  in  becoming  the  first  of 
the  Ptolemies  to  be  deified.  The 
Alexandrian  obscurity  of  this  whole 
passage  may  easily  have  been  en- 
hanced by  the  poet's  ignorance  of 
Egyptian  conditions. 

59.  hie  :  temporal.  —  iuveni  Is- 
mario :  Bacchus,  whose  vine  was 
abundant  on  Ismarus ;  cf.  Verg. 
Georg.  2,  37  :  iuvat  Is?/iara  Bac- 
cho  conserere. 

60.  ex  Ariadneis  .  .  .  corona: 
at  the  marriage  of  Ariadne  to  Bac- 
chus, after  her  desertion  by  The- 
seus, Venus  gave  her  as  a  bridal 
gift  a  magnificent  crown  of  gold 
and  precious  gems  (made  by 
Vulcan).  Its  metamorphosis  into 
a    constellation     ('  the     northern 


crown ')  at  the  translation  of  Ari- 
adne to  heaven  is  a  theme  of  fre- 
quent recurrence  in  the  poets : 
Ovid,  Fast.  3,  459-516;  5,  345: 
Bacclio  placuisse  corojiain  ex  Ari 
adneo  sidere  nosse  poles ;  Met.  8, 
177-182;  Manil.  5,  21:  Ariad- 
tieae  caelestia  dona  coronae ;  Prop. 
3,  17,7:  testaiur  i?i  astris  lyncibus 
ad  caelum  vecta  Ariadna  tuis. 

62.  flavi :  the  Homeric  ideal ; 
so  Ariadne's  hair  is  described  by 
the  same  epithet  in  64,  63  :  flavo 
.   .  .  vert  ice. 

63.  uvidulam:  a  characteristic 
Catullus  diminutive.  —  fletu  :  due 
to  its  compulsory  condition  as 
exuviae.  — templa  :  cf.  Enn.  Anti. 
I,  49  (Vahlen)  :  ad  caeli  caerula 
templa;  Lucr.  i,  1014:  nee  juare 
jtec  tellus  neque  caeli  lucida 
templa. 

65.  virginis:  the  constellation 
Virgo  was  variously  identified  with 
Dike-Astraea,  Isis,  Tyche,  Erig- 
one,  etc.  Cf.  Class.  Diet.  — 
namque :      on     the     position     cf. 


79 


66,  66] 


CATVLLI 


70 


lumina,  Callisto  iuncta  Lycaoniae, 
vertor  in  occasum,  tardum  dux  ante  Booten, 

qui  vix  sero  alto  mergitur  Oceano. 
sed  quamquam  me  nocte  premunt  vestigia  divum, 

lux  autem  canae  Tethyi  restituit : 
pace  tua  fari  hie  liceat,  Rhamnusia  virgo : 

namque  ego  non  ullo  vera  timore  tegam, 
nee  si  me  infestis  discerpent  sidera  dictis, 


Draeger,  2,  p.  162  ;  Tib.  i,  7,  12,  n. 
—  leonis :  Zeus  was  responsible 
for  the  metamorphosis  of  the 
famous  Nemean  Hon,  slain  by 
Hercules,  into  the  constellation 
Leo,  the  fifth  sign  of  the  zodiac. 

66.  Callisto :  dat. ;  but  one  of 
several  irregular  forms  in  the  decl. 
of  this  word.  Her  history  is  vari- 
ously told,  the  adj.  Lycaoniae  here 
having  patronymic  force.  As  at- 
tendant of  Artemis  in  Arcadia  she 
became  by  Zeus  mother  of  Areas, 
was  changed  into  a  bear,  and  later, 
either  after  death,  or  to  escape 
death,  into  a  constellation,  this 
being  one  of  the  many  identifica- 
tions explanatory  of  the  origin  of 
Ursa  JVIajor.  —  iuncta :  '  next  to.' 

67.  dux  ante  :  a  touch  of  pride 
that  she  should  show  the  way  to 
the  '  oxen-driver,'  or  charioteer, 
Bootes.  —  Booten  :  the  constel- 
lated Areas,  son  of  Callisto  ;  or 
Lycaon  ;  or  Icarius. 

68.  vix  sero  .  .  .  mergitur:  a 
characteristic  noticed  by  Homer, 
Od.  5,  272  :  oi//€  SuovTa  fSowTrjv., 
and  explained  by  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis 
{Astronomy  of  the  Ancients,  p.  59) 
on  the    ground   that   its   setting. 


"  inasmuch  as  the  constellation  is 
in  a  perpendicular  position,  occu- 
pies some  time,  whereas  his  rising 
is  rapid,  being  eifected  in  a  hori- 
zontal position." 

69.  quamquam  belongs  to  resti- 
tuit as  well  as  to  premunt ;  the 
principal  clause  begins  at  v.  75.— 
premunt  vestigia  divum:  cf.  A  rat. 
359  :  ^coiv  VTTo  TTOcrai  (f^opdrai  ; 
Manil.  (i,  803)  adopts  this  phrase. 

70.  Tethyi  :  to  whom,  rather 
than  to  her  husband  Oceanus  (cf. 
V.  68),  the  maidenly  modesty  of 
the  Coma  prefers  to  represent  her- 
self as  surrendered  for  the  passage 
by  day  (/mx)  back  around  the 
earth  to  her  next  rising.  Cf.  Tib. 
2,  5,  59-60. 

71-74.    Parenthetical. 

71.  Rhamnusia  virgo  :  Nemesis, 
so  called  from  her  temple  at  Rham- 
nus  in  Attica,  whose  province  it 
was  to  punish  presumptuous  words. 
Cf.  68,  77  ;  50.  20  :  ne  poenas 
Nemesis  reposcat  a  te. 

73.  nee:  sc.  te^am.  Only  if 
/?/;;/,  or  some  other  emphatic  word, 
were  expressed,  should  we  think 
nec  =  ne  .  .  .  quidetn.  This  verse 
is  an  emphatic  reiteration  of  the 


80 


CARMINA 


[66,  82 


condita  qiiin  veri  pectoris  evoluam  : 
75      non  his  tarn  laetor  rebus,  quam  me  afore  semper, 
afore  me  a  dominae  vertice  discrucior, 
quicum  ego,  dum  virgo  quondam  fuit  omnibus  expers 

unguentis,  una  milia  multa  bibi. 
nunc,  vos  optato  quom  iunxit  lumine  taeda, 
80  non  prius  unanimis  corpora  coniugibus 

tradite  nudantes  reiecta  veste  papillas, 
quam  iucunda  mihi  munera  libet  onyx, 

77.  expers  V  expersa  Heinsiiis  expressa  Statins  ex  pars  Munro.  78.  un- 
guentis V  unguenti  si  Lachmann  unguenti  surii  Auratiis.  79.  quoin  Ilanpi 
quem   V   quas  «.       80.    prius    u)   post    G.       82.    quam    V    quin    Lachmann. 


previous  one.  — ^  si  =  etianisi.  — 
discerpent :  probably  the  word  is 
more  literal  than  figurative  in  the 
mind  of  the  poet ;  but  as  a  meta- 
phor it  must  be  regarded  as  a  aTra^ 
Acyo/xevov.  Cf.  Cic.  Ad  Att.  2, 
19,  3  :  qua  dominiis  qua  advocati 
sibilis  conscissi.  The  tense  signi- 
fies the  probability  of  the  fate.  — 
dictis  :  instr. 

74.  quin  indicates  that  tegam 
was  used  as  a  verb  of  '  hindering.' 
—  evoluam  ;  cf.  Intr.  4j  43. 

75.  his  .  .  .  rebus  :  i.e.  the 
great  honors  recently  described. 

76.  afore  me  :  emphatic  and 
artistic  inversion,  forming  a  chias- 
mus with  the  expression  in  v.  75. 

77.  expers  :  in  the  active  sense, 
and  with  concessive  force, '  though 
caring  little  for.'  Cf.  Plant,  ^w///. 
713:  eo  more  expertem  te  ;  Ovid, 
Met.  I,  479;  Hor.  Car.  3,  11,  11. 
Cf.  also  K.  P.  H.  in  BPW.,  Vol. 
30,  Sp.  285. 

ROM.  El..  POETS  —  6  8 


78.  una  :  to  be  taken  with 
qia'au/i. 

79.  nunc  =  vvv  8e  =  ///  tm/ie  est. 
—  "Blessings  brighten  as  they 
take  their  flight,"  and  under  the 
changed  conditions,  the  lock  ea- 
gerly demands  in  its  translated 
state  offerings  of  the  choicest  per- 
fumes from  newly  wedded  brides, 
who  by  the  act  will  remind  her  of 
her  lost  home  and  her  beloved 
mistress. -*-lumine  =  (3'/>,  as  in  v.  90. 

80.  unanimis:  '  in  mutual  affec- 
tion.' 

82.  onyx:  an  ointment  vase 
made  of  ony.x.  They  were  even 
more  common,  especially  in  Egypt, 
of  alabaster  (a/adastrou).  For 
typical  shapes  v.  Dennis,  Cdies 
and  Cemeteries  of  Etrjtria,  p.  cxxv, 
ill.  -]•]  and  78.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  4,  12, 
17  :  nardi  parvus  onyx  eliciat 
cadiim  ;  Prop.  2,  13,  30  ;  St.  Mark 
14,  3  :  "alabaster  box  (R.V. 
"  cruse  ")  of  ointment." 


66,  83] 


CATVLLI 


vester  onyx,  casto  petitis  quae  iura  cubili. 

sed  quae  se  inpuro  dedit  adulterio, 
85      illius  ah  mala  dona  levis  bibat  inrita  pulvis : 

namque  ego  ab  indignis  praemia  nulla  peto. 
sed  magis,  o  nuptae,  semper  concordia  vestras, 

semper  amor  sedes  incolat  adsiduus. 
tu  vero,  regina,  tuens  cum  sidera  divam 
90  placabis  festis  luminibus  Venerem, 

unguinis  expertem  non  siris  esse  tuam  me, 

sed  potius  largis  adfice  muneribus. 
sidera  corruerint  utinam  !  coma  regia  fiam  : 

proximus  hydrochoi  fulgeret  Oarion. 

91.    unguinis  ^i?^//!?/ sanguinis  V.     non  siris  LacAmann  ne  siyeris  Sca/iger 
non  vestris  V.     tuam  Avantius  tuum  V. 


83.  vester  :  emphatic,  '  only 
yours,'  and  containing  the  im- 
plied antecedent  of  quae.  —  iura  : 
i.e.  those  of  a  iustiim  matrimo- 
ntum. 

87.  sed  magis  :  '  but  rather,'  i.e. 
than  experience  in  any  unholy 
union  the  shame  and  disappoint- 
ments just  referred  to.  For  this 
essentially  adversative  use  oi  magis 
cf.  68,  30.     Cf.  also  V.  92. 

9 1 .  unguinis  =  unguent i,  a  co  m  - 
paratively  rare  equivalent.  —  ex- 
pertem :  here  in  the  passive  sense, 
'lacking  in.'  —  non:  cf.  v.  80  ; 
Ovid,  A.  A.\,  389 :  aut  non  temp- 
taris  aut  perfice.  —  siris  =  siveris. 
—  tuam  :  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  25,  7  : 
me  tuo  longas  pereunte  noctes, 
Lydia,  dormis. 


93.  Throwing  off  the  grand 
tone  of  the  previous  verses,  the 
lock  bursts  forth  once  more  at 
the  close  with  an  ejaculation  of  its 
real  feelings. 

94.  In  the  illogical  petulance  of 
youth  it  forgets  that  it  has  just 
wished  the  destruction  of  the 
whole  stellar  system,  and  gayly 
imagines  a  complete  confusion  of 
the  established  order  in  the  sky. 
—  proximus  :  though  the  distance 
between  the  two  constellations 
Aquarius  and  Orion  is  now  at 
least  90°.  —  hydrochoi  :  dat.  — 
Oarion :  the  Greek  form  'Uapiwv 
was  not  only  the  sign  of  the  doctus 
poeta,  but  was  preferred  here,  as 
undoubtedly  in  the  original,  for 
metrical  reasons. 


8? 


CARMINA 


[68,  2 


68 


Quod  mihi  fortuna  casuque  oppressus  acerbo 
conscriptum  hoc  lacrimis  mittis  epistolium, 

68.    Title  Ad  Mallium  RM  Ad  Mallium,  Malium,  Manlium  «. 


68 

Many  editors  have  believed  this 
elegy  made  up  of  two  or  more  sep- 
arate poems,  and  it  appears  accord- 
ingly in  various  editions  as  68" (vv. 
1-40),  68''(4i-i6o),  or68''(4i-i48), 
and68'^(i4g-i6o).  The  arguments 
for  such  mutilation  are  shrewdly 
stated  by  Riese  in  his  annotated 
edition  of  1884,  and  by  Merrill 
(1893).  For  the  defense  of  the 
poem's  unity,  however,  see  Magnus 
in  Bursian's  JB.,  Vol.  87  (1887) 
pp.  151  sqq.,  and  Vol.  126(1906) 
pp.  139  sqq.,  and  Jahrb'iklier  f. 
Phil.  u.  Pad. ,Wol.  3  (1875),  pp 
849  sqq.  ;  Kiessling,  Analecta 
CatuUiana  (Greifswald  Program, 
1877  )  ;  Harnecker,  Das  6S  Gedicht 
des  Catullus  (Friedeberg  Program, 
1 881)  ;  Friedrich  (who,  however, 
puts  the  worst  construction  upon 
it)  ;  Schanz,  and  his  bibliography  ; 
etc.  The  difficulties  of  interpreta- 
tion do  not  seem  to  be  removed, 
but  rather  enhanced,  by  the  pro- 
posed division  ;  and  the  elegy  is 
best  considered  as  one,  a  carefully 
evolved  and  acutely  involved 
product  of  the  poet's  Alexandrian 
period. 

The  hopeless  confusion,  in  the 
Mss.,  of  the  name  of  the  person 


to  whom  the  elegy  is  addressed 
may  be  most  simply  explained  by 
adopting  Lachmann's  conjecture 
that  he  was  M\  Allius.  It  is  then 
very  easy  to  see  how  the  title  Ad 
Mallmm,  and  the  various  readings 
in  vv.  II,  30,  41,  66,  arose.  For 
an  acute  discussion  of  the  origin 
of  these  variants,  cf.  Friedrich, 
pp.  44  sqq.  No  editor  has  ven- 
tured to  follow  the  Mss.  implicitly 
in  this  matter.  In  the  main  part 
of  the  elegy  (vv.  41-148)  Allius  is 
spoken  of  in  the  third  person  as 
the  subject  of  the  eulogy  which  is 
pronounced  upon  him  for  his 
friendly  services  ;  in  the  introduc- 
tion (vv.  1-40)  it  is  not  unnatural, 
but  in  harmony  with  the  direct 
(second  personal)  address  of  the 
epistolary  style  employed,  that  the 
more  familiar  praenomen  Manius 
should  be  used.  But  in  v.  150  of 
the  epilogistic  close  (vv.  148-160) 
the  same  name  would  naturally  be 
employed  as  that  to  which  refer- 
ence is  made  in  the  same  sentence 
by  the  word  nomen  (v.  151). 

From  the  passage  beginning  at 
V.  27  it  is  seen  that  Catullus  was 
at  Verona,  while  Allius  was  doubt- 
less at  Rome,  as  was  also  Lesbia. 
It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the 
poet  expected,  nay,  probably  in- 


83 


68,  3] 


CATVLLI 


naufragum  ut  eiectum  spumantibus  aequoris  undis 
sublevem  et  a  mortis  limine  restituam, 
5        quem  neque  sancta  Venus  molli  requiescere  somno 


tended,  the  elegy  to  come  to 
the  attention  of  his  mistress ; 
and  it  should  be  read  with  this  in 
mind. 
1  /  Briefly,  the  argument  of  the 
^  poem  is  developed  as  follows : 
i-io:  'You  write  that  you  have 
neither  love  nor  poetry  which 
soothes  your  sorrowing  heart,  and 
ask  for  both  these  sources  of  com- 
fort from  me;  11-32:  but  you  do 
not  know  that  my  brother's  death 
has  plunged  me  into  such  grief 
that  I  am  in  no  mood  to  write  of 
love's  dalliance,  and  my  sadness  is 
enhanced  by  what  you  write  of  my 
mistress's  faithlessness  ;  33-40  : 
neither  can  I  send  you  any  other 
poems,  for  they  are  all  at  Rome ; 
you  must  not  blame  me  then  for 
not  doing  what  I  cannot.  41-69: 
I  must  not,  however,  let  the  oppor- 
tunity pass  to  hand  down  to  eternal 
fame  the  name  of  such  a  friend  as 
Allius,  and  his  kind  ofifices  in  open- 
ing to  Lesbia  and  me  a  home  for 
our  lover's  meetings;  70-130: 
thither  came  my  mistress,  aflame 
with  a  love  like  that  of  Laodamia 
for  her  bridegroom  when  that 
short-lived  home  was  established 
upon  which  the  Fates  had  already 
caused  to  fall  the  blighting  spell 
of  Troy,  accursed  Troy,  which  has 
taken  from  me  too  all  joy.  as  it  did 
from  her,  whose  love  was  deeper 
than  the  storied  abyss  by  Pheneus, 


more  joyous  than  the  grandsire's 
on  the  birth  of  his  anxiously 
awaited  heir,  fonder  than  a  dove's 
for  her  mate  ;  131-148  :  thus  came 
Lesbia  ;  and  if  sometimes  she  has 
wavered  in  her  devotion,  I  will 
bear  it  as  Juno  does  the  fickleness 
of  Jove,  and  will  remember  the 
wondrous  joys  of  those  golden 
days.  149-160:  Such  is  the  gift  of 
poetic  praise  which  I  could  off"er, 
my  friend ;  may  the  gods  bless 
thee  too,  and  thine,  and  mine,  wh« 
is  still  the  light  of  my  life  ! ' 

1.  Quod  .  .  .  mittis  :  this  pro- 
saic epistolary  form  occurs  thrice 
in  this  part  of  the  poem,  appearing 
again  in  vv.  27  and  33.  —  casu  .  .  . 
acerbo :  speculation  has  been  rife 
as  to  its  nature,  whether  political 
or  domestic  :   cf.  v.  6.  n. 

2.  lacrimis  :  instrumental.  The 
hyperbole  may  be  considered  as 
quoted  from  the  letter  of  Allius  to 
Catullus. — epistolium  :  this  Gk. 
diminutive  occurs  nowhere  else  in 
Lat.  before  Apuleius. 

3.  naufragum:  shipwreck  as  a 
figure  of  ruined  fortunes  is  a  literary 
commonplace. 

4.  Cf.  Plin.  IV.  H.  7,44,  143: 
a  limine  ipso  tnortis  revocatiis ; 
Cu/cr,  224 :  restitui  super  is  left 
iaiH  limine  ab  ipso. 

5-8.  These  verses  evidently  are 
the  reasons  given  by  Allius  for  his 
request. 


84 


CARMINA 


[68,  17 


10 


'5 


desertum  in  lecto  caelibe  perpetitur, 
nee  veterum  dulei  seriptorum  earmine  musae 

oblectant,  eum  mens  anxia  pervigilat, 
id  gratuni  est  mihi,  me  quoniam  tibi  dicis  amicum, 

muneraque  et  musarum  hinc  petis  et  Veneris  : 
sed  tibi  ne  mea  sint  ignota  incommoda,  Mani, 

neu  me  odisse  putes  hospitis  officium, 
accipe,  quis  merser  fortunae  fluctibus  ipse, 

ne  amplius  a  misero  dona  beata  petas. 
tempore  quo  primum  vestis  mihi  tradita  purast, 

iucundum  cum  aetas  florida  ver  ageret, 
multa  satis  lusi :  non  est  dea  nescia  nostri 


1 1,    incommoda  Deo  commoda  VM  comoda  R,   Mani  J.acJimann  mali  VRM 
al'  mauli  sec.  man.  in  M  margin  of  R  mauli  or  nialli  Dw. 


6.  desertum  in  lecto  caelibe : 
of  the  various  theories  advanced 
to  explain  the  sadness  of  Allius, 
e.g.  that  he  had  quarreled  with  his 
wife  or  with  his  mistress,  that  one 
or  the  other  of  them  was  seriously 
ill,  or  separated  from  him  suddenly 
for  some  other  reason,  or  had 
recently  died,  only  the  last  is  irrec- 
oncilable with  V.  155.  A  remi- 
niscence of  the  phrase  is  found  in 
Ovid's  Laodaniia  epistle  {Her.  13, 
107). 

7.  veterum  .  .  .  seriptorum: 
either  Greek  or  Roman. 

8.  cum:  temporal. 

10.  muneraque  .  .  .  musarum: 
poems  to  serve  in  place  of  those 
of  the  veternjn  seriptorum  of  v.  7. 
—  hinc  :  '  from  me.'  —  [munera] 
Veneris  :  erotic  poetry  (cf.  lusi,  v. 
17),  referring  back  to  vv.  5  and  6. 
The  last  request  is  answered  first, 


in  vv.  11-32;  the  first  one,  last, 
in  vv.  33-36. 

12.  hospitis  ofS*cium:  i.e.  grat- 
itude. Allius  had  indeed  proved 
himself  a  genuine  old  Roman 
hospes,  as  is  evidenced  by  vv.  67- 
72,  and  156.      If,  however,  hospitis 

—  '  host,'  we  must  suppose  that 
Allius  means  by  munera  .  .  .  Ven- 
eris (v.  10)  that  Catullus  should 
open  his  house  as  a  lover's  ren- 
dezvous. 

13.  quis  :  abl. 

14.  dona  beata  =  dona  beati. 

15.  tempore :   abl.    of    source. 

—  vestis  .  .  .  pura  =  toga  pura, 
toga  libera,  toga  virilis,  the  as- 
sumption of  which  marked  tlie  be- 
ginning of  young  manhood 

16.  The  conditions  under  which 
erotic  poetry  thrives. 

17.  lusi:  i.e.  especially  in  writ- 
ing love  poems.    Cf.  50,  2  :  mult  urn 


85 


68,   1 8] 


CATVLLI 


20 


25 


quae  dulcem  curis  miscet  amaritiem : 
sed  totum  hoc  studium  luctu  fraterna  mihi  mors 

abstulit.     o  misero  frater  adempte  mihi, 
tu  mea  tu  moriens  fregisti  commoda,  frater, 

tecum  una  tota  est  nostra  sepulta  domus, 
omnia  tecum  una  perierunt  gaudia  nostra, 

quae  tuus  in  vita  dulcis  alebat  amor, 
cuius  ego  interitu  tota  de  mente  fugavi 

haec  studia  atque  omnis  delicias  animi. 
quare,  quod  scribis  Veronae  turpe  Catullo 


27. 


Catullo  D«  Catulle  VR. 


lusimus;  61,  232:  lusinms  satis  \ 
Hor.  Car.  i,  32,  i  :  Si  quid  vaaii 
sub  umbra  lusimus  tecum.  —  dea : 
Venus. 

18.  dulcem  .  .  .  amaritiem:  an 
oxymoron  familiar  to  all  literature, 
as  to  all  human  experience ;  cf. 
64.95  •  sande puer.,curis  hominum 
qui  gaudia  misces  ;  Sappho,  Frag. 
40 :  yXvKVTTiKpov  aixd)(avov  opirerov ; 
Plaut.  CisL  I,  I,  69:  ecastor  a>/ior 
et  melle  et  fellest  fec7i>idissu//ius  : 
gustu  dat  dulce,  amarum  ad 
satieiatem  usque  oggerit ;  Ben  Jon- 
son,  Sad  Shepherd,  1,2:  "I  have 
known  some  few,  And  read  of 
more,  who  have  had  their  dose,  and 
deep.  Of  these  sharp  bitter-sweets." 
This  parallel  archaic  form  of  the 
noun  (amaritiem),  though  of  a 
common  type,  occurs  nowhere  else. 

19.  totum  hoc  studium:  i.e. 
both  love's  dalliance  and  the  poetry 
that  accompanies  it,  including  both 
ideas  expressed  in  v.  26.  —  fra- 
terna .   .   .  mors:  cf.  65.  5,  n. ;  loi. 

21.    moriens:  instrumental. 


22.   tota    .   .  .    sepulta  domus : 

to  be  understood  in  no  literal  sense, 
but  as  the  natural  extravagant  ex- 
pression of  poignant  grief.  The 
next  verse  repeats  the  thought  in 
different  form. 

26.  haec  studia :  the  writing 
of  love  poetry.  —  omnis  delicias 
animi:  the  joys  of  love  itself. 
This  phrase  reminds  Catullus  of  a 
remark  in  the  letter  of  Allius,  to 
which  he  replies  parenthetically 
in  vv.  27-30,  resuming  the  main 
argument  in  v.  31. 

27.  Veronae :  the  quotation 
from  the  letter  of  Allius  begins 
here  and  includes  the  next  two 
verses,  quoting,  as  is  common  in 
literature,  not  the  whole  sentence 
of  Allius,  but  the  important  part, 
something  like  est,  or  credo  esse, 
evidently  being  omitted.  Catullus 
after  his  brother's  death  is  tarry- 
ing at  his  old  home  in  Verona, 
while  (so  Allius  writes)  Lesbia's 
lovers  are  taking  advantage  of  him 
in  his  absence  from  Rome. 


86 


CARMINA 


[68,  37 


esse,  quod  hie  quisquis  de  meliore  nota 
frigida  deserto  tepefactat  membra  cubili, 
30  id,  Mani,  non  est  turpe,  magis  miserumst. 

ignosces  igitur,  si,  quae  mihi  luctus  ademit, 

haec  tibi  non  tribuo  munera,  cum  nequeo. 
nam  quod  scriptorum  non  magna  est  copia  apud  me, 

hoc  fit  quod  Romae  vivimus :  ilia  domus, 
35      ilia  mihi  sedes,  illic  mea  carpitur  aetas : 

hue  una  ex  multis  capsula  me  sequitur. 
quod  cum  ita  sit,  nolim  statuas  nos  mente  maligna 

28.  quisquis  V  quivis  Lachviann.  29.  tepefactat  altered  frotn  tepefacit 
RM  tepefacit  V  tepefaxit  Lachmann  tepefactet  Bergk.  30.  Mani  Lachtnann 
mali  VRM  mauli  or  malli  Da>. 


28.  hie :  i.e.  Rome,  whence 
Allius  wrote.  —  quisquis  :  appar- 
ently used  {ovguisque  without  est; 
cf.  Cic.  Ad  Fain.  6,  i ,  i  :  quocuin- 
que  in  loco  quisquis  est ;  Tusc. 
Disp.  5,  34,  98 ;  also  the  legal 
phrase,  quod  quemquam  hac  lege 
profiterei  oportebit.,  which  Lach- 
mann quotes  on  Lucr.  5,  264,  from 
the  Lex  Iidia  Alunicipalis,  13. — 
meliore  nota :  Clodia  and  her 
various  paramours  belonged  to  an 
aristocratic  circle  of  society. 

29.  deserto:  i.e.  by  Catullus 
when  he  went  to  Verona.  —  tepe- 
factat :  this  expressive  frequenta- 
tive form  is  a  aira^  Xeyofjuvov, 
as  is  one  other  of  the  two  dozen 
frequentatives  used  by  Catullus, 
trusante/n  (56,  6).  But  the  pres- 
ent instance,  it  should  be  noted, 
is  a  quotation  from  Allius. 

30.  magis :  cf.  66.  87,  n.  — 
miserumst :  i.e.  a  reason  to  pity 
me,  a  further  cause  for  such  sorrow 


as  to  prevent  me  from  complying 
with  your  request. 

31.  ignosces:  mild  command. 

32.  haec  .  .  .  munera :  the  love 
poetry.  —  cum  :  a  good  illustration 
of  the  narrow  line  dividing  the 
temporal  from  the  causal.  Per- 
haps both  ideas  were  in  the  mind 
of  the  poet. 

33.  nam  anticipates  the  ques- 
tion why  Catullus  cannot  comply 
with  the  first  part  of  the  request 
in  v.  10,  i.e.  send  him  some  books 
of  poetry  (scriptorum),  not  neces- 
sarily erotic ;  perhaps  translations 
from  Callimachus,  like  No.  66, 
perhaps  of  a  different  character. 

34.  vivimus  :  here  in  Verona  I 
am  merely  temporarily  managing 
to  exist ;  real  life,  with  all  that 
makes  it  worth  living,  is  only  at 
Rome,  for  me. 

36.  hue  :  to  Verona. — capsula  : 
for  books.  —  sequitur  =  secuta  est. 

37.  statuas:  'conclude.' 


87 


68,  38] 


CATVLLI 


40 


45 


id  facere  aut  animo  non  satis  ingenuo, 
quod  tibi  non  utriusque  petenti  copia  postast : 

ultro  ego  deferrem,  copia  siqua  foret. 
non  possum  reticere,  deae,  qua  me  Allius  in  re 

iuverit  aut  quantis  iuverit  officiis, 
ne  fugiens  saeclis  obliviscentibus  aetas 

illius  hoc  caeca  nocte  tegat  studium, 
sed  dicam  vobis,  vos  porro  dicite  multis 

milibus  et  facite  haec  charta  loquatur  anus 


* 


notescatque  magis  mortuus  atque  magis, 
nee  tenuem  texens  sublimis  aranea  telam 

39.    posta  VRM  facta  D<o.       41.    A'o  gap  before  this  v.  inVRVl.     qua  me 
Allius  Scaliger  quam  fallius  VRM. 


39.  non  utriusque  =  iientriits.  re- 
ferring to  the  two  requests  of  v. 
ID.  —  postast:  although  the  only 
example  of  this  verb  with  copia, 
it  seems  (to  say  nothing  of  its 
Ms.  authority)  to  express  better 
than  the  more  usual  fact  a  the 
thought  of  offering,  or  setting  be- 
fore Allius,  a  choice  of  what  was 
desirable;  and  the  origin  oi posta 
as  a  false  reading  is  very  hard  to 
explain. 

41.  non  possum:  cf.  iiequeo 
(v.  32)  ;  though  he  cannot  accede 
to  either  request  of  Allius  for- 
mally, he  cannot  refrain  from  writ- 
ing the  praises  of  Allius  himself. 
Conventionalities  prevent  certain 
things  for  people  in  mourning; 
but  the  phenomenon  of  eluding 
these  restrictions  and  allowing 
Nature  to  assert  herself  under  other 
forms  is  a  familiar  one  in  all  times. 


as  in  this  poem,  where  Catullus 
really  sings  of  the  former  delights 
of  his  association  with  Lesbia, 
partly  in  direct  manner,  and  partly 
by  indirection  through  the  paral- 
lel of  Laodamia.  —  deae  =  Musae. 
i,i.  iuverit  .  .  .  iuverit :  note 
the  emphatic  repetition. 

43.  obliviscentibus:  poetically 
used  with  causative  force. 

44.  caeca  :  active.  —  nocte  = 
caligine. 

45.  porro:  'in  turn.' 

46.  anus :  '  when  old '  (and 
presumably  garrulous,  a  quality 
which  may  have  been  further 
elaborated  in  the  following  miss- 
ing verse).  With  this  adjectival 
use  cf.  77,  10:  qui  sis  fama  loque- 
tnr  anus  ;  9, 4  :  anumque  matrem ; 
Mart.  1 2,  4. 4 :  chart aque  dicet  anus. 

48.  notescat :  one  of  several 
inceptives  that  appear  first  in  Cat. 


88 


CARMTNA 


[68,  6i 


50  in  deserto  Alii  nomine  opus  faciat. 

nam  mihi  quam  dederit  duplex  Amathusia  curam 

scitis,  et  in  quo  me  corruerit  genere, 
cum  tantum  arderem  quantum  Trinacria  rupes 
lymphaque  in  Oetaeis  Malia  Thermopylis, 
55      maesta  neque  adsiduo  tabescere  lumina  fletu 
cessarent  tristique  imbre  madere  genae, 
qualis  in  aerii  perlucens  vertice  montis 

rivus  muscoso  prosilit  e  lapide, 
qui  cum  de  prona  praeceps  est  valle  volutus, 
60  per  medium  densi  transit  iter  populi, 

dulce  viatori  lasso  in  sudore  levamen, 


50.    Alii  0  ali  GR  alii  M. 


54.    Malia  <o  Maulia  VRM  Manila  D. 


The  subj.,  of  course,  is  Allius. — 
magis  .  .  .  atque  magis  :  Catullus 
employs  also  the  shorter  magis 
magis  in  38,  3  and  64,  274. 

50.  deserto  .  .  .  nomine :  the 
picture  is  that  of  an  inscription 
neglected  and  forgotten.  Ellis 
cites  Shakespeare.  Sonnets,  55,  4  : 
"  unswept  stone,  besmear'd  with 
sluttish  time." 

51.  duplex  Amathusia:  'the 
two-phased  goddess  of  Amathus  ' ; 
cf.  V.  18.  At  Amathus  was  one 
of  the  celebrated  Cyprian  temples 
of  Aphrodite.  The  supposed  ref- 
erence here  to  a  Hermaphroditic 
statue  of  the  goddess  is  probably 
due  to  the  learned  imagination  of 
the  commentators. 

52.  genere  :  '  manner.' 

53.  Trinacria  rupes :  Aetna,  the 
ever-active  volcano. 

54.  lympha:  the  hot  springs 
at  Thermopylae,  on    one  side  of 


which   is    Mt.   Oeta.  and   on    the 
other,  the  Malian  gulf. 

56.  imbre:  '  flood '  of  tears. 

57.  qualis:  points  of  likeness 
in  the  simile  are  the  high,  clear, 
and  beautiful  source  of  the  stream, 
its  crystal  purity,  and  its  sudden 
burst  into  full  flow.  To  these  we 
may  possibly  add  the  relief  afforded 
by  it  to  the  wayfarer  through  the 
weary  wastes  of  burning  passion  ; 
but  vv.  59-62  seem  rather  the 
mere  natural  rounding  out  of  a 
beautiful  description  of  natural 
scenery  without  special  signifi- 
cance, the  poet  being  himself 
carried  on  by  the  force  of  his  own 
rhetoric,  like  his  mountain  brook- 
let.    Cf.  also  Howe,  p.  12. 

58.  muscoso:  this  descriptive 
word  goes  further  to  paint  the 
picture  than  any  other.  Cf.  Verg. 
Ec.  7,  45:    muscosi  f antes. 

59.  prona  praeceps  :  cf.  65,  23,  n. 


89 


68,  62] 


CATVLLI 


cum  gravis  exustos  aestus  hiulcat  agros. 
hie,  velut  in  nigro  iactatis  turbine  nautis 

lenius  adspirans  aura  secunda  venit 
65      iam  prece  Pollucis,  iam  Castoris  inplorata, 

tale  fuit  nobis  Allius  auxilium. 
is  clausum  lato  patefecit  limite  campum, 

isque  domum  nobis,  isque  dedit  dominam, 
ad  quam  communes  exerceremus  amores. 
70  quo  mea  se  molli  Candida  diva  pede 

intulit  et  trito  fulgentem  in  limine  plantam 

innixa  arguta  constituit  solea, 

66.  Allius  {in  the  margin  Manllius)  0  Manlius  GRM  '^■aS^^wys,  altered  from 
Manlius  D  Manius  lac/tniann.  67.  clausum  0  classum  GM  claussum  w. 
68.    dominam  VM  dominae  Froelich. 


62.  Cf.  Sail.  lus;.  19,  6  :  loca  ex- 
its t  a  solis  ardoribus. 

63.  hie  refers  back  to  the  cum 
ofv.  53. 

65.  Pollucis  .  .  .  Castoris:  obj. 
gen.,  like  the  more  natural  preca- 
tionibjis  deorutn  dearumque  (Livy, 
I.  Praef.  13);  Prop.  4,  i,  loi.  — 
inplorata  agrees,  probably,  with 
aura.     Cf.  Prop.  i.  17.  18.  n. 

66.  nobis  =  mild  ;  so  also  in  v. 
68. 

67.  limite :  the  means  by 
which  Catullus  gained  access  to 
his  love  ;  a  kind  of  '  cross-lots ' 
route,  upon  which  might  well 
have  been  inscribed,  "  private  way, 
dangerous  passing." 

68.  dominam  :  '  the  lady  of  the 
house,'  who  would  supposably  act 
as  chaperon  and  lend  the  air  of  pro- 
priety to  the  meeting.  What  house 
and  what  lady,  whether  Allius's 
wife  or  not.  we  are  not  informed. 


69.  ad  =  apud. — quam:  i.e.  do- 
mujfi,  the  previous  clause  being 
parenthetical. —  communes  :  '  mu- 
tual' ;  cf.  Lucr.  4.  1 195  :  communia 
.  .  .  gaudia;  1208:  est  communi'' 
voluptas.  — exerceremus  :    '  enjoy.' 

70.  diva :  cf.  Shak.  T.  G.  of 
Ver.  2,  4,  147  :  — 

"  She  is  an  earthly  paragon,  — 
Call  her  divine." 
Mids.  Nights  Dream,  3,  2,  226  :  — 
"To  call  me  goddess,  nymph,  di- 
vine and  rare. 
Precious,  celestial." 

71.  trito:  cf.  V.  115.  —  fulgen- 
tem :  the  hyperbole  of  enthusiasm, 
instead  of  nitidus,  which  is  the 
usual  equivalent  of  the  Homeric 
epithet  Xnzapoi  (ttoScs)  ;  cf.  //.  2, 
44. 

72.  arguta  .  .  .  solea :  the  mod- 
ern poet  would  be  more  likely  to 
apply  the  epithet  to  a  silk  skirt 
worn  by  his  divinity. 


90 


CARMINA 


[68,  85 


coniugis  ut  quondam  flagrans  advenit  amore 
Protesilaeam  Laodamia  domum 
75      inceptam  frustra,  nondum  cum  sanguine  sacro 
hostia  caelestis  pacificasset  eros. 
nil  mihi  tarn  valde  placeat,  Rhamnusia  virgo, 

quod  temere  invitis  suscipiatur  eris. 
quam  ieiuna  pium  desideret  ara  cruorem, 
80  docta  est  amisso  Laodamia  viro, 

coniugis  ante  coacta  novi  dimittere  collum, 

quam  veniens  una  atque  altera  rursus  hiems 
noctibus  in  longis  avidum  saturasset  amorem, 
posset  ut  abrupto  vivere  coniugio, 
85      quod  scibant  Parcae  non  longo  tempore  abisse, 

85^   scibant   VM  sceibant  D  scibat    Lachtnann   scirant  Lucian  Mueller. 


74.  Laodamia :  in  extent  and 
detail  this  episode  is  worthy  of  the 
poet's  Alexandrian  models,  and 
is  paralleled  in  Catullus  only  by 
the  Ariadne  episode  in  No.  64. 
Laodamia  is  a  type  of  intense  and 
constant  conjugal  affection.  When 
her  newly  wedded  spouse,  Protes- 
ilaus,  the  first  of  the  Greeks  to 
perish  on  the  plain  of  Troy,  was 
permitted  to  return  for  three  brief 
hours  to  earth,  she  committed 
suicide  that  she  might  accompany 
him  on  his  final  journey  to  the 
lower  world.  For  various  forms 
and  details  of  the  myth  cf.  Hom. 
//.  2,  695-710  ;  Eurip.  Protesi- 
laus;  Hygin.  Fab.  103;  Ovid, 
Her.  13. 

75.  inceptam  frustra:  because 
never  finished,  either  literally  or 
figuratively;  cf.  //.  2,  701  :  KtA 
86/iAos  rj/J.iTtXrj'i. 


76.  hostia  •  .  •  pacificasset :  just 
what  sacrifice  was  omitted  is  not 
clear ;  but  it  seems  to  have  been 
one  that  should  have  preceded 
the  beginning  of  a  new  house  by 
Protesilaus,  an  important  under- 
taking which  should  not  have 
lacked  preliminary  divine  ap- 
proval. —  eros  :  this  unusual  desig- 
nation for  the  gods  is  repeated  in 
V.  78. 

77.  Rhamnusia  virgo :  cf.  66, 
71,  n. 

78.  quod  =  2fl  id.  —  invitis  .  ,  . 
eris  :  cf.  76,  12. 

79.  ieiuna:  cf.  Prop.  3,  15,  18: 
vilem  iemnae  saepe  iiegavit 
aqua?n. 

82.    Cf.  Intr.  §  42,  I  (5)  {a). 

84.  vivere:  ' bear  to  live.' 

85.  quod  :  coniugio.  —  scibant : 
the  regular  early  form  in  this  con- 
jugation, but  later  supplanted  by 


91 


68,  86] 


CATVLLI 


90 


si  miles  muros  isset  ad  Iliacos : 
nam  tuniHelenae  raptu  primores  Argivorum 

coeperat  ad  sese  Troia  ciere  viros, 
Troia  (nefas)  commune  sepulcrum  Asiae  Europaeque, 

Troia  virum  et  virtutum  omnium  acerba  cinis. 
quaene  etiam  nostro  letum  miserabile  fratri 

attulit  ?     hei  misero  frater  adempte  mihi, 
hei  misero  fratri  iucundum  lumen  ademptum, 

91.  quaene  etiam  //eijisius  que  vetet  id  VM  qualiter  et  E//is  quandoquidem 
et  A  IF.  Shipley  PAPA,  jj,  vii  quae  vae,  vae,  et  Scaliger  quae  taetre  id 
Miinro. 


the  forms  in  -iebam,  etc.,  after  the 
analogy  of  the  3d  conjugation. 
Cf.  LSHLG,  p.  94.  Cf.  84,8.— 
tempore:  the  abl.  of  time  within 
which  is  accurately  used  with 
ahisse;  within  a  comparatively 
short  time  this  wedlock  would  be 
a  thing  of  the  past.  — abisse  :  the 
use  of  this  perfect  for  the  fut.  perf. 
idea  enforces  the  certainty  of  ful- 
fillment of  the  decree.  For  the 
syntax  cf.  Livy,  21,  8,  8:  Poeno 
cepisse  iam  se  icrbem,  si  paidiim 
adnitatur,  credente. 

87.  Cf.  Intr.  §42,  I  (3);  also 
vv.  89.  109  ;  76,  15  ;  etc. 

89.  The  mention  of  the  hate- 
ful name  of  Troy  distracts  the 
poet  for  a  time  into  a  passionate 
outburst  of  fresh  grief  over  his 
brother's  death,  from  which  he 
does  not  return  to  Laodamia  until 
V.  loi.  —  nefas:  'unspeakable.' 
an  ejaculation  of  concentrated 
hatred.  Cf.  Verg.  ^d'«.  8,688  :  se- 
quiturque  {nefas)  Ae^yptia  con- 
iiDix.  —  commune  sepolcrum  :  e.g. 
of  the  unnumbered  victims  of  the 


ten  years'  war  who  sank  to  earth 
in  both  armies. 

90.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  i,  565  :  quis 
Troiae  nesciat  urbem  virtutesque 
virosqiie  ant  tanti  incendia  belli? — 
acerba  :  the  quality  of  fmit  plucked 
before  its  time  ;  hence  the  mean- 
ing 'untimely';  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  6, 
427-429 :  infantuDique  .  .  .  qnos 
.  .  .  ab  iibere  raptos  .  .  .  funere 
mersit  acerba.  —  cinis :  here  used 
of  the  place  of  reduction  to  ashes, 
'  pyre  ' :  '  Troy,  the  pyre  where 
heroes  and  heroism  all  met  an 
untimely  death.' 

91.  quaene  =  nanne  ea  eni/n ; 
originally  rhetorically  interroga- 
tive, such  forms  acquired  some- 
times asseverative  or  causal  force. 
Here,  however,  the  exclamatory 
question  is  in  harmony  with  the 
tone  of  the  passage. 

92-96.  Cf.  20-24.  The  repeti- 
tion argues  for  the  unity  of  the 
poem  T h e  ph ras q  frater  adempte 
mihi  recurs  in  loi,  6. 

93.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  3.  658,  for  a 
reminiscence  of  form. 


92 


CARMINA 


[68,  1 08 


tecum  una  tota  est  nostra  sepulta  domus, 
95      omnia  tecum  una  perierunt  gaudia  nostra, 

quae  tuus  in  vita  dulcis  alebat  amor, 
quem  nunc  tarn  longe  non  inter  nota  sepulcra 

nee  prope  cognatos  conpositum  cineres, 
sed  Troia  obscena,  Troia  infelice  sepultum 
100         detinet  extremo  terra  aliena  solo. 

ad  quam  tum  properans  fertur  simul  undique  pubes 

Graeca  penetralis  deseruisse  focos, 
ne  Paris  abducta  gavisus  libera  moecha 

otia  pacato  degeret  in  thalamo. 
105     quo  tibi  tum  casu,  pulcherrima  Laodamia, 

ereptum  est  vita  dulcius  atque  anima 
coniugium  :  tanto  te  absorbens  vertice  amoris 

aestus  in  abruptimi  detulerat  barathrum, 


98.  conpositum:  '  laid  to  rest ' ; 
cf.  Tib.  3.  2.  26. 

99.  obscena  and  infelice  here 
are  synonyms.  —  infelice  :  the 
form  is  metrically  more  conven- 
ient to  this  verse  than  the  or- 
thodox abl.  in  f,  which  Catullus 
elsewhere  employs.     Cf.  62,  30. 

100.  extremo:  'far  away';  cf. 
Hor.  Ep.  I,  I,  45  :  extreinos  ciir- 
ris  7>iercator  ad  Itidos. 

102.  penetralis :  where  were 
the  shrines  of  the  household 
gods,  the  most  sacred,  and  so 
the  dearest  spot  of  home. 

103.  moecha:  Catullus  refers  to 
Helen  with  characteristic  blunt- 
ness,  the  more  remarkable  when 
we  consider  Lesbians  own  charac- 
ter and  vv.  135-148.  But  only  a 
Catullus,  love-blinded,  could  write 


this  elaborate  parallel  between  the 
constant  Laodamia  and  the  incon- 
stant Lesbia. 

105.  casu:  the  chronological 
coincidence  of  the  expedition 
against  Troy  with  the  marriage 
of  Protesilaus  and  Laodamia. 

107.  tanto.  etc.  :  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  preceding  comparison. 
—  absorbens  vertice  .  .  .  aestus: 
the  imagery  suggests  an  irresisti- 
ble force,  combining  the  undertow 
of  ebb-tide  with  the  concentration 
of  the  whirlpoors  vortex.  Cf.  Cic. 
Brut.  81,  282  :  hunc  qtioqiie  absor- 
bjtit  acstiis  .  .  .  glon'ae ;  Verg. 
Aeti.  3.  421  :  vast  OS  sorbet  in  ab- 
rupt 11  m  fludus . 

108.  barathrum :  this  Greek 
word  is  especially  applicable  to 
an  underground  channel. 


93 


68,  I09] 


CATVLLI 


quale  ferunt  Grai  Pheneum  prope  Cylleneum 
no         siccare  emulsa  pingue  palude  solum, 

quod  quondam  caesis  montis  fodisse  medullis 

audit  falsiparens  Amphitryoniades, 
tempore  quo  certa  Stymphalia  monstra  sagitta 

perculit  imperio  deterioris  eri, 
115    pluribus  ut  caeli  tereretur  ianua  divis, 

Hebe  nee  longa  virginitate  foret. 
sed  tuus  altus  amor  barathro  fuit  altior  illo, 

qui  durum  domitam  ferre  iugum  docuit. 

118.  durum  domitam  Lachmann  tuum  domitum  VM  tantum  indomitam 
Siatius  tunc  indomitam  Conr.  de  Allio  tamen  indomitam  Heyse  tum  te  indo- 
mitam Riese  actutum  domitum  Ellis  te  tum  domitam  Macnagkten  tum  te  do- 
mitam Friedrich. 


109.  Pheneum :  an  Arcadian 
town  near  the  base  of  Mt.  Cyl- 
lene,  in  a  plain  which  was  some- 
times so  inundated  as  to  become 
a  troublesome  lake. 

no.  pingue:  'heavy,'  because 
saturated  and  enriched  by  the 
abundant  moisture. 

111.  quod  refers  to  bara- 
thrum. 

112.  axi^\\.  —  dicitur  ]  cf.  Hon 
Ep.  I,  16,  17:  tji  rede  vivis,  si 
airas  esse  quod  aitdis.  The  con- 
struction is  like  the  similar  use  of 
cliieo  and  cikoijoj,  but  this  is  the 
only  case  extant  where  audio  is 
so  used  with  an  infinitive.  — falsi- 
parens Amphitryoniades :  Hera- 
cles, really  the  son  of  Juppiter, 
was  reputed  to  be  the  son  of 
Amphitruo. 

113.  Several  other  feats  of 
Heracles  belonging  to  this  time 
and  region  are  by  nature  closely 


allied  to  this  story  of  the  draining 
of  the  plain  of  Pheneos  :  the  tale 
of  the  Stymphalian  birds,  also 
that  of  the  Hydra,  the  Eryman- 
thian  boar,  and  the  stables  of  Au- 
geas.     Cf.  H.  &  T.  §§  138-140. 

114.  deterioris  eri :  Eurystheus. 

115.  pluribus  .  .  .  divis:  their 
number  being  increased  by  the 
addition  of  Heracles.  The  action 
of  the  verb  being  involuntary  (and 
even  unconscious)  rather  than 
voluntary,  di7iis  is  best  considered 
an  instrumental  abl. ;  a  less  con- 
vincinoj  instance  is  Hor.  Sat.  I,  6, 
116:  ce)ia  ministratur  pueris  tri\ 
btis. 

116.  Hebe:  the  bride  of  the 
deified  Heracles.  Her  Roman 
name  was  luventas. 

117.  Even  this  comparison 
does  not  duly  represent  the  in- 
tensity of  Laodamia's  affection. 

118.  durum:  i.e.  for  maidenly 


94 


CARMINA 


[68,  126 


120 


125 


nam  nee  tarn  earum  eonfecto  aetate  parenti 

una  caput  seri  nata  nepotis  alit, 
qui,  eum  divitiis  vix  tandem  inventus  avitis 

nomen  testatas  intulit  in  tabulas, 
inpia  derisi  gentilis  gaudia  tollens 

suscitat  a  cano  volturium  capiti : 
nee  tantum  niveo  gavisa  est  ulla  columbo 

conpar,  quae  multo  dicitur  inprobius 


modesty  to  assume.  This  idea, 
whicii  is  emphasized  to  prove  the 
truth  of  amor  .  .  .  alitor,  appears 
prominently  in  both  of  the  epitha- 
lamia  of  Catullus;  cf.  61,  81,  83, 
95  ;  62,  20-24  ;  ^Iso  Hor.  Car.  3, 9, 
1 7  :  redi(  Venus,  didnctosque  iugo 
cogit  aeneo. — iugum:  cf.  61,  45: 
coniugator  amoris. 

1 19-124.  A  second  parallel  to 
the  intensity  of  Laodamia's  love 
is  found  in  that  of  an  old  man  for 
his  long-hoped-for  grandson.— 
carum  .  .  .  caput .  .  .  alit  =  caru/n 
est  caput  seri  nepotis  quod  nata 
alit. 

120.  caput :  '  life.'  Cf.  Prop. 
4,  II,  10,  n. — seri:  and  therefore 
long-expected. 

121.  qui  refers  to  «^/(?//j.  —  in- 
ventus :  the  heir  so  long  awaited, 
when  at  length  he  arrives,  is  said 
to  have  been  '  found,'  as  if  the  ob- 
ject of  careful  search. 

122.  testatas  .  .  .  tabulas:  the 
last  will  and  testament  of  the 
grandfather.  The  participle  is 
best  regarded  as  from  the  active 
form  of  the  verb,  and  so  used  here 
in  the  passive  sense,  i.e.  the  will 
is  duly  signed  and  witnessed. 


123.  inpia :  because  pietas  es- 
pecially implies  loyalty  to  the  high- 
est interests  and  wishes  of  the 
older  members  of  one's  family,  in 
the  broad  or  narrow  sense  of  the 
word  family ;  and  here  a  more 
distant  relative  had  selfishly  and 
greedily  hoped  for  disappointment 
of  the  grandsire's  fondest  hopes. 
—  derisi  gentilis :  now  in  turn 
mocked  by  the  rotation  of  For- 
tune's wheel.  The  Laws  of  the 
XII  Tables  provided:  si paterfa- 
milias  intestato  moritur,  familia 
pecuniaque  eius  agnatum  genti- 
liumque  esto  (Cic.  De  Inv.  2,50). 

124.  volturium:  the  gentilis. 
Cf.  Sen.  Ep.  95,  43  :  amico  aegro 
aliquis  adsidet ;  probamus :  at 
hoc  si  hereditatis  causa  facit,  vol- 
tur  est,  cadaver  exspectat ;  Plant. 
Trin.  loi  :  sutit  alii  qui  te  voltu- 
rium vocant.  —  capiti:  an  abl. 
form  unparalleled  in  the  classical 
period,  and  exceedingly  rare  even 
in  the  postclassical  period.  Cf. 
Neue,  Vol.  i,  p.  366. 

125-128.  A  third  comparison 
is  found  in  the  proverbial  fond- 
ness of  a  dove  for  its  mate. 

126.   conpar:  'mate.' 


95 


68,  127] 


CATVLLI 


oscula  mordenti  semper  decerpere  rostro 

quam  quae  praecipue  multivola  est  mulier : 
sed  tu  horum  magnos  vicisti  sola  furores, 
130         ut  semel  es  flavo  conciliata  viro. 

aut  nihil  aut  paullo  cui  turn  concedere  digna 

lux  mea  se  nostrum  contulit  in  gremium, 
quam  circumcursans  hinc  illinc  saepe  Cupido 

fulgebat  crocina  candidus  in  tunica, 
135     quae  tamen  etsi  uno  non  est  contenta  Catullo, 

rara  verecundae  furta  feremus  erae, 
ne  nimium  simus  stultorum  more  molesti. 

saepe  etiam  luno,  maxima  caelicolum, 


127.  mordenti:  cf.  2.  2-4;  ad 
priinmn  digit iim  adpeteiiti  et 
acris  solet  incitare  jnorsus  ;  Plaut. 
A/eu.  195. 

12S.  multivola:  a-rra^  Xey.  in 
classical  Latin.  The  mult  a  form- 
ing tlie  first  part  of  the  compound 
refers  to  oscula. 

129.  tu  :  Laodamia.  —  furores  : 
cf.  2.  8 :  uti  gravis  acquiescat 
ardor;  Verg.  Aen.  4,  loi  :  ardet 
aiiums  Dido  traxitque  per  ossa 
fuiort'm ;  Prop,  i,  13,  20:  tari- 
tus  erat  deniens  inter  utrosque 
furor. 

130.  flavo:  of  a  typical  ancient 
hero. 

131.  Reverting  to  the  com- 
parison in  vv.  70-74,  Catullus 
takes  up  again  the  theme  of 
Lesbia's  love  and  entrancing  love- 
liness. 

132.  lux  mea:  cf.  v.  160  ; 
Tib.  4.  3,  15:  tuni  placeant 
silvae,  si,  lux  mea,  tecu/u  ar- 
guarr.    Prop.  2,  14,  29  :    7tunc  ad 


te,    ffiea    lux,    veniat    mea    litori 
navis. 

133.  Lesbia  seems  a  very  Venus 
to  her  enthralled  lover  ;  cf.  vv.  70- 
72  ;  Hor.  Car.  i,  2,  33  :  Erycina 
.  .  .  quam  .  .  .  circum  volat  et 
Cupido. 

134.  crocina  :  the  same  color  as 
the  bridal  veil ;  so  Hymen  is  rep- 
resented in  this  color  in  61,  8: 
flammeum  cape,  etc. 

135.  Catullus  has  heard  enough 
of  Lesbia's  frailties  to  disturb  his 
peace  of  mind  ;  but,  in  no  mood 
yet  to  cast  her  off,  would  excuse 
her  as  even  in  this  respect  also 
like  the  immortals. 

136.  verecundae :  that  Lesbia 
did  not  reveal  her  amours  to  the 
world  is  considered  an  extenuating 
circumstance.  —  furta  :  see  Lex. 
Cf.  V.  145;  Prov.  9,  17:  "Stolen 
waters  are  sweet."  —  erae:  used 
also  by  Ovid  in  Her.  9.  78,  for 
the  more  usual  domina. 

137.  molesti :  i.e.  jealous. 


96 


CARMINA 


[68,  147 


coniugis  in  culpa  flagrantem  concoquit  iram, 
140         noscens  omnivoli  plurima  furta  lovis. 

atqui  nee  divis  homines  conponier  aequumst : 

ingratum  tremuli  toUe  parentis  onus. 
nee  tamen  ilia  mihi  dextra  deducta  paterna 
fragrantem  Assyrio  venit  odore  domum, 
145     sed  furtiva  dedit  mira  munuseula  nocte, 
ipsius  ex  ipso  dempta  viri  gremio. 
quare  illud  satis  est,  si  nobis  is  datur  unis 


139.  concoquit  Lackmann  cotidiana  0  quotidiana  GM  contudit  Hertzberg 
concipit  Baehrens  continet  Santen.  140.  furta  u  facta  VM.  141.  atqui 
(i>   atque  VM    at    quia   IX.      There,    is    no  gap    in    the   Mss,    after  this  verse. 


139.  in:  'in  cases  of.'  —  con- 
coquit :  cf.  the  slang  phrase,  "  sim- 
mer down." 

140.  omnivoli :  another  aira^ 
\ty.  of  the  same  pattern  as  uiulii- 
vola  (v.  128)  ;  but  the  first  part 
of  the  compound  in  this  instance 
refers  to  persons  {pnellas  f)  ;  and 
an  important  part  of  classical  my- 
thology deals  with  their  history. 

141.  conponier:  the  three  othe;' 
instances  of  the  archaic  infin.  end- 
ing in  Catullus  are  all  in  No.  61 
(vv.  42,  65,  68). 

142.  'Have  done  with  the  se- 
nile vexatiousness  of  over-jealousy' 
(Ellis).  As  men  and  gods  are 
Incomparable,  a  comedy  scene  is 
suggested  as  a  parallel,  the  irritable 
old  man  enraged  at  the  amorous 
escapades  of  a  son.  The  thought 
essentially  repeats  that  of  v.  137, 
and  is  addressed  to  himself,  like 
frop.  2,  5,  14  :  subtrahe  colla  iugo, 
without  any  expressed  vocative. 

ROM.  EL.  POETS — 7  g-r 


143.  nec  tamen  :  '  And,  after  all, 
she  was  not,'  etc.  Cf.  Prop.  3.  16, 
11;  Munro  on  Lucr.  5,  1177. — 
deducta :  in  the  wedding  proces- 
sion. —  paterna  :  in  a  figurative 
sense  only,  referring  to  the  fact 
that  the  father  gave  away  the 
bride  /;/  Dianus  of  the  bride- 
groom. 

145.  Cf.  V.  136,  n. — dedit: 
Lesbia  gave  the  voluntary  offering 
of  passionate  affection,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  reluctance  of  the 
bride  whose  father  had  arranged  a 
marriage,  perhaps  without  consult- 
ing her  wishes.  The  moral  for 
Catullus  seems  to  be,  "  You 
shouldn't  look  a  gift  horse  in  the 
mouth,"  but  be  judiciously  blind 
to  some  failings. 

147.  is :  the  antecedent  dieui 
is  incorporated  in  the  following 
relative  clause.  —  unis  :  '  only  ' ; 
Catullus  is  most  favored,  of  all  the 
lovers  of  Lesbia. 


68,  148] 


CATVLLI 


quern  lapide  ilia  diem  candidiore  notet. 
hoc  tibi  quod  potui  confectum  carmine  munus 
150        pro  multis,  AUi,  redditur  officiis, 

ne  vestrum  scabra  tangat  robigine  nomen 

haec  atque  ilia  dies  atque  alia  atque  alia, 
hue  addent  divi  quam  plurima,  quae  Themis  olim 

antiquis  solita  est  munera  ferre  piis. 
15s    sitis  felices  et  tu  simul  et  tua  vita, 

et  domus  ipsa  in  qua  lusimus,  et  domina, 
t  et  qui  principio  nobis  terram  dedit  aufert, 

a  quo  sunt  primo  omnia  nata  bona, 

148.  notet  D  notat  V.  150.  Alii  Scaliger  aliis  VM  alys  R  Manli  w. 
157.  terram  VRM  teneram  Statins  te  et  eram  Munro.  aufert  VRM  Anser 
Heyse  Mer  Munro  ZMdens  Friedrich.        158.    bona  «  bono  VM. 


148.  lapide  .  .  .  diem  candidi- 
ore :  corresponding  to  our  phrase, 
*a  red-letter  day.'  The  custom 
was  said  to  be  a  Cretan  one,  to 
count  prosperous  days  by  white 
pebbles.  Cf.  107,  6;  Plin.  Ep.6, 
II,  2,:  o  diem  .  .  .  laetuni  notan- 
diimque  mihi  candidissimo  calculo ! 
Hor.  Car.  i,  36,  10:  Cressa  ne 
careat  pulchra  dies  nota ;  Pers.  2, 
I  :  diem  numera  meliore  lapillo. 

149.  The  panegyric  now  com- 
pleted, Catullus  turns  in  personal 
address  to  his  friend  with  the  final 
words  of  goodwill ;  cf.  Intr.  to  the 
poem. 

151.  vestrum:  i.e.  the  family 
name.  —  scabra  .  .  .  robigine  :  cf. 
Latimer,  Misc. :  "  a  new  canker  to 
rust  and  corrupt  the  old  truth." 

152.  The  flight  of  time  ;  cf.  64, 
16. 

153.  hue :  i.e.  to  this  mtinns 
which  1  have  offered.  —  Themis  : 


the  divinity  that  represented 
"  law."  Her  attributes  were  the 
horn  of  plenty,  symbolizing  bless- 
ing, and  the  balance,  indicating 
exact  justice. 

155.  vita  =  domina,  but 
whether  a  parallel  to  Lesbia  or  a 
lawful  wife  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
termine. 

156.  domus :  cf.  v.  68.  —  do- 
mina is  the  same  person  as  domi- 
nam  in  v.  68. — sit  felix  is  to  be 
supplied  several  times  in  w.  156- 
157,  and  in  v.  160. 

157-158.  These  verses  are  still 
an  unsolved  puzzle  for  commenta- 
tors. Perhaps  they  refer  to  a 
third  person  who  assisted  in  the 
merry  plot,  terram  being  taken  in 
the  sense  of  a  basis  of  undertaking, 
a  footing  from  which  to  carry  on 
the  intrigue,  a  terra  firma  of  ref- 
uge after  being  tossed  on  the 
waves  of  doubt,  and  omnia  refer- 


98 


CARMINA 

et  longe  ante  omnes  mihi  quae  me  carior  ipsost, 
i6o        lux  mea,  qua  viva  vivere  dulce  mihist. 


[72.  2 


Nulli  se  dicit  mulier  mea  nubere  malle 
quam  mihi,  non  si  se  luppiter  ipse  petat. 

dicit :  sed  mulier  cupido  quod  dicit  amanti, 
in  vento  et  rapida  scribere  oportet  aqua. 


72 

Dicebas  quondam  solum  te  nosse  Catullum, 
Lesbia,  nee  prae  me  velle  tenere  lovem. 


ring  to  the  love  affair  as  a  whole. 
Vahlen's  proposition  to  change  et 
at  the  beginning  of  v.  157  to  dum 
and  understand  both  verses  to  refer 
to  Jove  has  met  with  little  favor. 
—  primo  I  omnia:  cf.  Intr.  §43. 
160.   lux  =  Lesbia. 

70 

The  first  of  the  shorter,  epigram- 
matic poems  which  end  the 
Catullus  collection.  Probably  ad- 
dressed to  Lesbia.  A  comparison 
with  72,  2  suggests  that  Catullus 
had  already  begun  to  have  sus- 
picions of  Lesbia,  and  that  this 
was  intended  as  a  playful  warning 
to  her. 

I.  mulier  mea :  a  lover's  term, 
found  only  here  in  the  elegists,  in 
this  sense,  though  paella  is  often 
so  used;  but  cf.  Hor.  Epod.  12, 
23  :  magis  quern  diligeret  Jiiulier 
sua  quam  te.  —  nubere  =  tenere 
in   72,  2.      Cf.    Plaut.    Cist.   43 : 


haec  q7iidetn  ecastor  cottidie  viro 
nubit. 

2.  luppiter:  cf.  72,  2.  —  petat: 
'■  come  to  woo.' 

3.  dicit:  the  repetition  of  this 
word  suggests  epigram  25  of  Cal- 
limachus  as  a  probable  model :  — 
"fi/Aocre    KuAAtyi'WTos   lojvt'oi,  ^r\- 

TTOT   €Ketvr;s 
efeiv  ixy']r(.  cf>L\ov  Kpiaaova,  /J-rJTe 

cjiLXrji'. 
w/xocrev.      dAAo,    Xiyovcriv    aXrjOea, 

Tous  ev  IpwTi 
opKOVi   fir]    8vv€LV   ovaT    £S  dda- 

varwv;  etc. — cupido:  cf.  107,  i. 

4.  Cf.  Tib.  4,  4,  8;    Prop.   2, 


28,8. 


72 


Catullus  is  now  well  aware  of 
Lesbia's  true  character;  and, 
though  his  passion  is  not  quenched, 
he  cannot  longer  respect  her.  Cf. 
Nos.  73  and  85. 

I .    Dicebas  .  .  .  lovem  :  cf .  di- 


cit 


luppiter,  70,  I .  —  nosse  : 


99 


72,  3] 


CATVLLI 


dilexi  turn  te  non  tantum  ut  vulgus  amicam, 
sed  pater  ut  gnatos  diligit  et  generos. 

nunc  te  cognovi :  quare  etsi  inpensius  uror, 
multo  mi  tamen  es  vilior  et  levior. 

qui  potis  est  ?  inquis.     quod  amantem  iniuria  talis 
cogit  amare  magis,  sed  bene  velle  minus. 


Desine  de  quoquam  quicquam  bene  velle  mereri 
aut  aliquem  fieri  posse  putare  pium. 

73.    I.    quicquam  D  quisquam  VM. 


i.e.  as  an  accepted  lover;  the  his- 
tory of  Lesbia's  career  before  this 
makes  it  impossible  to  believe 
that  Catullus  ever  understood  her 
to  use  the  word  in  sensu  venerio. 
Cf  such  expressions  as  *'  this  one 
thing  I  do,"  "  I  am  resolved  to 
know  only,'"  etc. 

2.  tenere:  cf.  ii,  i8:  conplexa 
tenet;  64,  28. 

3.  dilexi :  love  mingled  with 
esteem  is  meant,  as  compared  with 
the  merely  sensual  amare.  Cf' 
bene  velle,  v.  8. 

4.  gnatos  .  .  .  generos :  by  way 
of  contrast  to  aiiiicaiii,  those  in 
the  family  circle  toward  whom 
there  is  the  least  element  of 
that  amor  here  in  mind;  and 
so  a  more  emphatic  expression 
than  even  iixorem  or  filia>n 
would  be. 

5.  inpensius  uror :  the  flames 
of  passion  are  all  the  hotter,  though 
my  esteem  is  gone.  Cf  Ter.  Eim. 
72  :  et  taedet  et  ainore  ardeo. 


7.  qui:  cf67,  17:  qui  possum. 

—  potis  est  =  potest.  Cf  76,  24, 
16;  potis  early  became  common 
in  gender,  and  its  perfect  com- 
position with  esse  was  but  slowly 
accomplished ;  cf.  the  following 
passages  in  Lucr.  3,  1079  {pote)  ; 
I,  452  {potis  est);  i,  661, 
{pot esse)  ;  5,  881  {potissit)  ;  i, 
652  {posse) ;  I,  546  {possint)  ; 
etc. 

8.  bene  velle  :   cf.  75,  3. 

73 

An  outburst  of^  J^itterness 
against  the  ingratitude  of  a  friend, 
possibly  the  Alphenus  of  No.  30, 
or  the  Rufus  of  No.  77. 

1.  quicquam:  adverbial  ace. 
with  bene  mereri.  —  velle:  to  be 
taken  with  desine. 

2.  aliquem :  for  quemquam.  — 
The  alliteration  expresses  the  pas- 
sionate disappointment  of  Catullus. 

—  pium:  'appreciative.' 


100 


CARMINA 


[75.  4 


omnia  sunt  ingrata,  nihil  fecisse  benigne: 
immo  etiam  taedet,  taedet  obestque  magis, 

ut  mihi,  quern  nemo  gravius  nee  acerbius  urget 

quam   modo  qui  me  unum  atque   unicum  amicum 
habuit. 


75 


Hue  est  mens  deducta  tua,  mea  Lesbia,  culpa, 
atque  ita  se  officio  perdidit  ipsa  suo, 

ut  iam  nee  bene  velle  queat  tibi,  si  optima  fias, 
nee  desistere  amare,  omnia  si  facias. 


73.  3.  benigne  V  Friedrich  adds  est.  4.  Guyetus  prefixed  pr(jdest  to 
the  verse.  taedet,  taedet  Avantiits  taedet  obestque  magisque  magis  V 
taedet,  si  fit  Lachmann. 

75.  I.  hue  VRM  nunc  Codex  Ciiiacianiis,  accepted  by  Scaliger,  ■jv/io  trans- 
posed the  poem  and  joined  it  to  87.     deducta  VRM  diducta  Lachmann. 


3.  ingrata:  'unthanked' ;  for 
a  similar  use  in  the  passive  sense 
cf.  76,  6;  Plant.  True.  535:  ht- 
gratiitn  doniivt.  —  nihil  fecisse 
benigne  :  sc.  est ;  '  to  have  done 
a.  favor  counts  for  naught.'  Cf. 
Fl  uit.  Capt.  344  :  at  nil  est  igno- 
tiiin  ad  illuiii  jiiittere. 

4.  taedet :  '  'tis  a  bore.' — magis 
=  potius. 

5.  mihi:  sc.  obest. 

6.  The  unusual  phraseology 
and  the  recklessness  in  regard  to 
elision  suggest  that  perhaps  Catul- 
lus is  quoting  the  very  expression 
of  his  friend.  Cf.  Intr.  §43; 
Cell.  18,  4,  2  :  se  unum  et  unicum 


led  or  em  esse. — habuit:    i.e.    pro- 
fessed to  feel  so. 

75 

A  poem  of  similar  tone  to  that 
of  No.  72. 

1 .  hue  .  .  .  deducta :  '  has 
reached  such  a  point.'  —  mea  :  this 
sign  of  affection  helps  illustrate 
the  state  of  Catullus's  feel- 
ings. 

2.  officio :  '  the  bonds  of  de- 
votion.' 

3.  benovclle:  contrasted  with 
amare  in  v.  4;  cf  72.  8. 

4.  omnia  :  i.e.  any  imaginable 
kind  of  excess. 


lOI 


76,  0 


CATVLLl 


76 


Siqua  recordanti  benefacta  priora  voluptas 

est  homini,  cum  se  cogitat  esse  pium, 
nee  sanctam  violasse  fidem  nee  foedere  in  ullo 
divum  ad  fallendos  numine  abusum  homines, 
5       multa  parata  manent  in  longa  aetate,  Catulle, 
ex  hoc  ingrato  gaudia  amore  tibi. 
nam  quaecumque  homines  bene  cuiquam  aut  dicere 
possunt 
aut  facere,  haec  a  te  dictaque  factaque  sunt. 

76.    Folhnvs  75  in  the  Mss.  ifnmediately,  and u-as  therefore  also  transposed 
after  87-75  by  Lachinann.       3.    in  ullo  b>  nuUo  VRM, 


76 

Realizing  thoroughly  the  entire 
unworthiness  of  Lesbia  ajid  bit- 
terly  conscious  of  the  faithlessness^ 
wjth  which  she  has  re\varded_his 
constant  devotion,  Catullus  has 
resolved  to  cureMmself  ofhislOYfi- 
But,  finding  reason  powerless  to 
cope  witli  passion,  he  summons 
the  aid  of  the  gods  to  ridjiim.  of 
his  infatuation. 

1.  benefacta:  cf.  vv.  7,  8. 

2.  pium  :  '  conscientious  ' ;  ex- 
plained by  the  next  two  verses. 
Several  such  expressions  in  this 
elegy  are  to  be  explained  only 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  poet 
consumed  by  the  one  thought  al- 
ready stated  in  the  introduction  to 
the  poem. 


3.  fidem:  to  men,  as  contrasted 

with  that  obligation  towards  the 
gods  which  is  referred  to  in  the 
following  clause. 

4.  divum  .  .  .  numine:  'an 
oath  in  the  name  of  the  gods ' ;  cf. 
64,  134:  neglecto  numine  divum; 
Ovid,  Met.  \o.  430:  promissaque 
numine  firmat. 

5.  longa  aetate :  '  during  a 
long  life ' ;  i.e.  he  has  enough 
memories  of  this  kind  (cf.  multa) 
to  last  him  a  lifetime. 

6.  ingrato:  cf.  73,  3,  n. 

7.  cuiquam :  this  indefinite, 
more  common  in  universal  nega- 
tives, is  sometimes  employed  also 
in  universal  affirmatives,  usually 
in  expressed,  or  implied,  condi- 
tions ;  cf  Cic.  Ad  Fam.  6,  14,  i  : 
si  quisquam  est  timidus  .  .  .  is  ego 
sum. 


102 


CAR  M  IN  A 


[76,  20 


ro 


15 


20 


omnia  quae  ingratae  perierunt  credita  menti. 

quare  cur  te  iam  amplius  excrucies  ? 
quin  tu  animo  offirmas  atque  istinc  teque  reducis, 

et  dis  invitis  desinis  esse  miser  ? 
difficile  est  longum  subito  deponere  amorem. 

difficile  est,  verum  hoc  qua  lubet  efficias  : 
una  salus  haec  est,  hoc  est  tibi  pervincendum  : 

hoc  facias,  sive  id  non  pote  sive  pote. 
o  di,  si  vestrum  est  misereri,  aut  si  quibus  umquam 

extremam  iam  ipsa  morte  tulistis  opem, 
me  miserum  adspicite  et,  si  vitam  puriter  egi, 

eripite  banc  pestem  perniciemque  mihi. 


10.    cur  te  iam  VM  iam  te  cur  Dw  cur  tu  te  iam  Schoell.       1 1.    istinc  teque 
Heinsius  instincteque  0  instinctoque  GM  istinc  te  ipsa  Ellis. 


g.  ingratae :  here  in  the  act. 
sense,  '  thankless.''  —  perierunt : 
'have  been  wasted.' 

11.  offirmas:  for  a  similar  in- 
trans.  use  of  this  verb  cf.  Plaut. 
Stick.  68  :  offirmabit  pater  advor- 
sum  )ios.  —  istinc  :  a  scornful  ex- 
pression :  '  from  that  unworthy 
love.' 

12.  dis  invitis:  best  taken  in 
the  causal  sense  with  desinis.  Cf. 
68,  78. — esse  miser:  *to  make 
yourself  unhappy.' 

13.  Catullus  the  lover  makes 
answer  to  Catullus  the  reasoner. 
—  longum:  not  absolutely  long 
was  the  period  covered  by  the  love 
of  Catullus  for  Lesbia,  but  rela- 
tively long,  as  it  absorbed  the  best 
years  of  his  life. 

14.  Reason  again  gets  the 
upper  hand.  Cf.  the  struggle  of 
Propertius,  3,  21,  5. 


15.  haec  refers  to  the  same 
thing  as  hoc  in  vv.  14,  15,  16  ;  the 
gender  here  conforms  to  that  of 
sahis. 

16.  pote :  sc  est.  Cf.  v.  24 ; 
72,  7,  n.;  Prop.  3,7,  10;  Pers.  i, 
56:  qtiipote? 

18.  extremam  iam  ipsa  morte  : 
'in  the  last  article  of  death.'  Ca- 
tullus feels  that  his  is  a  desperate, 
life-and-death  struggle. 

19.  puriter :  in  the  sense  elab- 
orated in  the  opening  verses  of  this 
elegy.  The  form  is  one  of  the 
poet's  archaisms  ;  cf.  39,  14;  Cato, 
R.  R.  23,  2. 

20.  pestem  perniciemque  :  this 
expression,  found  in  various  other 
writers,  was  doubtless  considered 
especially  emphatic  from  its  al- 
literation and  assonance.  Cf. 
"  beastly  bore,"  "  plaguey  particu- 
lar," and  the  like. 


103 


76    21] 


CATVLLI 


25 


hei  mihi,  subrepens  imos  ut  torpor  in  artus 

expulit  ex  omni  pectore  laetitias ! 
non  iam  illud  qiiaero,  contra  ut  me  diligat  ilia, 

aut,  quod  non  potis  est,  esse  pudica  velit : 
ipse  valere  opto  et  taetrum  hunc  deponere  morbum. 

o  di,  reddite  mi  hoc  pro  pietate  mea. 


82 

Quinti,  si  tibi  vis  oculos  debere  Catullum 
aut  aliud  siquid  carius  est  oculis, 

eripere  ei  noli,  multo  quod  carius  illi 
est  oculis  seu  quid  carius  est  oculis. 

21.  hei  Larhmann  seu  VM  sei  Ellis. 


22.  ex  omni  pectore  laetitias : 
'every  joyful  feeling  from  my 
heart.' 

23.  contra  ...  me  diligat :  '  re- 
ciprocate my  love  ' ;  diligere  stands 
here  for  a  higher  type  of  affection 
than  atnare,  as  usual.     Cf.  72,  3,  n. 

24.  potis  est :  cf.  72,  7,  n. 

25.  ipse  :  '  it  is  for  myself  that 
I  pray.'  The  emphasis  is  by  con- 
trast with  ilia  (v.  23).  A.  195,  b; 
L.  2376. 

26.  pietate  :  cf.  v.  2,  n. 

82 

Catullus  beseeches  Quintius 
(probably  the  same  person  men- 
tioned in  100.  i)  not  to  wrest  from 
him  his  greatest  treasure  (presum- 
ably Lesbia).    If  this  is  the  correct 


interpretation,  it  must  have  been 
written  at  an  earlier  period  than 
Nos.  72  and  76,  while  the  poet 
still  felt  that  Lesbia  was  his  to 
lose,  and  still  experienced  the 
pangs  of  jealousy  at  the  mention 
of  other  lovers. 

2.  carius  .  .  .  oculis  :  cf.  104, 
2  :  ambohus  mihi  quae  carior  est 
oculis  ;  3,  5  :  quern  plus  ilia  oculis 
suis  ainabat. 

3.  ei :  synizesis. 

4.  seu  quid  .  .  .  oculis :  the 
phrase  takes  the  place  of  another 
substantive  in  the  same  construc- 
tion as  the  preceding  oculis.  Cf.  13, 
9  :  sed  contra  accipies  meros  amorcs 
seu  quid  suavius  clegantiusve  est ; 
23,  12  :  corpora  siccioracornu  aut 
siquid  inagis  aridum  est. 


104 


CARMINA 


[84,  2 


83 


Lesbia  mi  praesente  viro  mala  plurima  dicit : 

hoc  illi  fatuo  maxima  laetitiast. 
mule,  nihil  sentis.     si  nostri  oblita  taceret, 

Sana  esset :  nunc  quod  gannit  et  obloquitur, 
non  solum  meminit,  sed,  quae  multo  acrior  est  res, 

irata  est,  hoc  est,  uritur  et  coquitur. 


84 

Chommoda  dicebat,  si  quando  commoda  vellet 
dicere,  et  insidias  Arrius  hinsidias, 

83.    6.    coquitur  Lipsius  loquitur  VRM. 


83 

"  The  lady  doth  protest  too 
much,  methinks."  Cf.  No.  92. 
Writtenjiot  later  than  i;QB.c.,the 
year^n  which  Lesbians  husband, 
Q.  Caecilius  Metelhis  Celer,  died. 

1.  praesente  :  Catullus,  how- 
ever, seems  not  himself  to  have 
been  there  on  the  occasion  referred 
to,  as  is  indicated  by  oblita  (v.  3), 
jneminit  (v.  5). 

2.  fatuo:  the  derivation  of  the 
word  ifdri)  makes  it  peculiarly 
appropriate  to  one  expressing  ill- 
grounded  boasts. 

3.  mule:  much  less  frequent 
as  a  term  of  abuse  than  asiiuts. 

4.  Sana  :  i.e.  not  wounded  by 
Cupid's  darts.     Cf.  Tib.  4.  6.  18. 

5.  acrior :  *  more  important.' 
because  to  the  possessor  of  subtle 


discernment     it      implies      much 
more. 

6.  irata  :  cf.  Ter.  Ancir.  555  : 
am  ant  ill  in  irae  a  maris  ititegra- 
tiost.  —  uritur  :  i.e.  with  love. 
Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  4,  68  :  uritur  in- 
felix  Dido ;  Tib.  2,  6,  5  ;  4,  6, 
17.  — coquitur  :  'is  tormented,' 
i.e  by  her  passion. 

84 

The  u^e_  .^L-the_  aspirate__was 
much  restricted  in  early  J-atin  ; 
but  by  the  beginning  of  the  first 
century  B.C.  tlie  increasing  fre- 
quency of  Greek  loan-words  led  to 
a  tendency  to  go  to  the  other  ex- 
treme and  apply  the  aspirate  to 
both  vowels  and  consonants  where 
it  had  no  etymological  justifica- 
tion. Cf.  Quint.  I.  5,  20  ;  Cic  Be 
Orat.    160.      Devotion   to  such  a 


105 


84,  3] 


CATVLLI 


lO 


et  turn  mirifice  sperabat  se  esse  locutum, 

cum  quantum  poterat  dixerat  hinsidias. 
credo,  sic  mater,  sic  liber  avunculus  eius, 

sic  maternus  avus  dixerat  atque  avia. 
hoc  misso  in  Syriam  requierant  omnibus  aures 

audibant  eadem  haec  leniter  et  leviter, 
nee  sibi  postilla  metuebant  talia  verba, 

cum  subito  adfertur  nuntius  horribilis, 
lonios  fluctus,  postquam  illuc  Arrius  isset, 

iam  non  lonios  esse,  sed  Hionios. 


84.   s 

Politianus. 


•td  4,  which  stand  as  g  and  lo  in  the  Mss.,  were  transposed  by 


fad  became  especially  ridiculous 
when  found  in  a  parvenu  of 
meager  education.  Such  a  person 
apparently  was  ,the  Arrius  of  this 
witty  ppigr^im  (cf.  vv.  5,  6),  who 
seems  to  have  beenjis  extraiiao;ant 
witli' Trrs^^^sjisjijiiodern  cockney. 
It  has  been  conjectured,  but  with- 
out other  than  circumstantial  evi- 
dence, that  he  may  have  been  the 
Q.  Arrius  whom  Cicero  (/?;■«/. 
242)  mentions  as  a  worthless 
orator,  without  ability  or  noble 
birth,  who  had  gained  some  prom- 
inence by  political  methods. 

1.  Chommoda  :  '  whages.'  — 
vellet :  this  is  perhaps  the  earliest 
example  of  the  Subjunct.  of  Indef. 
Frequency,  a  construction  appear- 
ing about  this  time  in  isolated  in- 
stances {^e-g-  Caes.  B.C.  3,  1 10.  4). 
but  increasingly  common  in  im- 
perial times. 

2.  hinsidias  :  'hambuscade.'' 
4.    quantum  poterat :    •  with  as 

much  emphasis  as  possible.' 


5.  credo:  'no  doubt.'  —  liber: 
the  implication  plainly  is  that 
either  this  uncle  or  some  other 
uncle  of  his  had  not  been  free, 
and  thus  that  Arrius  was  at  least 
connected  with  a  family  of  liber- 
tini,  apparently  on  his  mother's 
side,  from  comparison  of  the  list 
of  relatives  mentioned  here.  It  is 
certain  that  ignorance  of  the  proper 
use  of  the  aspirate  was  especially 
common  among  the  lower  classes. 
Cf  Cell.  13,  6,  3  :  rusticiis  fit 
senno,  mqait,  si  adspires  per- 
peram. 

7.  misso  in  Syriam  :  if  the 
above  identification  of  Arrius  be 
correct,  this  mission  to  Syria  was 
doubtless  with  his  friend  Crassus 
(Cic.  End.  242).  i.e.  in  55  B.C., 
and  this  would  give  an  approxi- 
mate date  to  the  epigram. 

8.  audibant :  cf.  68.  85,  n. 

9.  postilla  :  the  anteclassical 
equivalent  of  postea  ;  another  of 
the  many  archaisms  of  Catullus. 


106 


CARMINA 


[86,  6 


8S 

Odi  et  amo.     quare  id  faciam,  fortasse  requiris. 
nescio,  sed  fieri  sentio  et  excrucior, 

86 

Quintia  formosa  est  multis,  mihi  Candida,  longa, 

recta  est.     haec  ego  sic  singula  confiteor, 
totum  illud  "  formosa  "  nego  :  nam  nulla  venustas, 
nulla  in  tarn  magno  est  corpore  mica  salis. 
V   Lesbia  formosa  est,  quae  cum  pulcherrima  totast, 
tum  omnibus  una  omnes  surripuit  Veneres. 


85 

A  brief  and  emphatic  statement 
of  the  same  theme  as  that  of  Nos. 
72  and  75. 

1.  Odi  et  amo:  cf.  the  imita- 
tion in  Ovid,  A/u.  2,  4,  5  :  od/  nee 
possum  eupiens  non  esse,  quod 
odi. 

2.  nescio  .  .  .  sentio:  the  fact 
is  determined  not  by  the  intellect, 
but  by  the  emotions. 

86 

The  superiority  of  Lesbians 
charms  to  those  of  an  unknown 
beauty  named  Quintia.  In  No.  43 
Catullus  expressed  his  impatience 
of  another  such  comparison. 

I.  Candida,  longa,  recta:  that 
these  qualities  were  considered 
essential  elements  of  female  beauty 
is  evident  from  such  passages  as 
the  following :  13,  4 :  eenain  non 
sine  Candida  puella;  Hor.  Sat.  i, 
2,    123:     Candida    rectaque    sit ; 


tnunda  hactenus  itt  neqiie  longa 
nee  ntagis  alba  velit,  quam  dat 
natiira,  videri ;  Ovid,  Am.  2,  4, 
33 :  quia  tarn  longa  es,  ve teres 
heroidas  aequas, 

2.  sic  :  i.e.  as  in  vv.  i  and  2. 

3.  totum  illud  "  formosa  "  :  i.e. 
the  expression  "formosa,''^  with  all 
that  the  term  properly  implies. 

4.  nulla  .  .  .  mica  salis  :  '  not  a 
particle  of  wit'  (sparkling  fascina- 
tion, tirbanitas)  ;  cf.  Mart.  7,  25, 
3  :  nullaque  mica  salis  nee  amari 

fellis  in  illis gutta. 

5.  pulcherrima  :  •  very  pretty  ' ; 
of  mere  physical  faultlessness, 
which  might  be  true  of  a  doll-like 
•' putty-face,"  such  as  Quintia  ap- 
pears to  be  in  the  eyes  of  Catullus, 
without  including  at  all  the  in- 
tellectual and  emotional  fascina- 
tions of  an  ideal  "formosa."'^ 

6.  omnes  .  .  .  Veneres:  'every 
charm,'  i.e.  all  Venus's  gifts  and 
graces.  Cf.  Quint.  10,  i,  79:  om- 
nes dicendi  Veneres  sectatus  est. 


107 


87,  I] 


CATVLLI 


§2 

Nulla  potest  mulier  tantum  se  dicere  amatam 
vere,  quantum  a  me  Lesbia  amata  mea  es?- 

nulla  fides  uUo  fuit  umquam  foedere  tanta, 
quanta  in  amore  tuo  ex  parte  reperta  meast. 


92 

Lesbia  mi  dicit  semper  male  nee  tacet  umquam 
de  me :  Lesbia  me  dispeream  nisi  amat. 

quo  signo  ?  quia  sunt  totidem  mea  :  deprecor  illam 
adsidue,  verum  dispeream  nisi  amo. 

87.    2.    es  Scaliger  est  VM.       3.    ullo  VM  nullo  to. 


87 

Perhaps  a  fragment,  though  not 
necessarily  incomplete.  The  sup- 
position of  Scaliger  and  other  edi- 
tors that  No.  75  should  be  used  to 
complete  it  is  entirely  gratuitous. 
More  in  sorrow  than  in  reproach. 
Catullus  reminds  his  Lesbia  of  the 
singleness  and  intensity  of  his  love, 
which  he  apparently  now  realizes 
has  been  trifled  with. 

I.  Cf.  8,  5  :  amata  nobis  quan- 
tum amabitiir  Jiulla  ;  37,  12  ;  58.  2  : 
ilia  Lesbia  qitani  Catullus  unani 
plus  quain  se  atque  suos  aniavit 
onines. 

3.  foedere:  a  common  term  for 
mutual  plighted  faith  in  the  lover's 
vocabulary ;  cf.  Prop.  4,  3,  69 ; 
Pichon,  s.v. 


4.  amore  tuo  ex  parte  reperta 
meast :  '■  the  love  that  I  have  be- 
stowed upon  thee.'  —  tuo:  objec- 
tive ;  similarly,  64.  253.  —  mea  : 
emphatic  by  contrast  with  that  of 
the  other  lovers  of  Lesbia. 

92 

The  theme  is  the  same  as  that 
of  No.  83. 

2.  dispeream  nisi :  cf.  Prop.  2, 
21,  9 :  dispeream,  si  quicquam 
aliud  quam  gloria  de  te  quaeritur. 

3.  quo  signo  :  sc.  hoc  concludo  ; 
cf.  Plant.  A/il.  Gl.  looi  :  quo  ar- 
gument o.  —  sunt  totidem  mea  :  '  I 
have  exactly  the  same  two  expe- 
riences,' viz.  (i)  curse  her; 
(2)  love  her.  —  deprecor:  'de- 
nounce.' For  this  unusual  sense 
of  the  word,  see  the  discussion  of 
this  passage  in  Gell.  7  (6),  16. 

08 


CARMINA 


[95.  2 


93 

Nil  nimiiim  studeo,  Caesar,  tibi  velle  placere, 
nee  scire  utrum  sis  albus  an  ater  homo. 


95 

Zmyrna  mei  Cinnae  nonam  post  denique  messem 
quam  coepta  est  nonamque  edita  post  hiemem, 


93 

Catullus  does  not  care  to  be  on 
good  terms  with  Caesar.  The 
same  hatred  towards  the  great 
"  Imperator""  appears  in  Nos.  29, 
54.  57,  where  the  connection  has 
given  rise  to  Baehrens's  conjecture 
that  this  passage  and  the  others 
mentioned  were  written  soon  after 
the  arrival  of  Caesar  with  his  reti- 
nue at  Verona  after  the  campaign 
of  55  B.C.,  when  the  military  licen- 
tiousness which  naturally  prevailed 
crossed  the  path  of  the  poet's  own 
private  life  at  some  point,  perhaps 
in  the  pursuit  of  Ameana  by  the 
notorious  Mamurra. 

I.  Nil  nimium  studeo:  'I  am 
not  particularly  anxious.'  Some- 
body has  apparently  tried  to  rec- 
oncile Catullus  to  Caesar.  A 
similar  use  of  niinis  is  a  favorite 
with  Catullus  ;  cf.  e.g.  64,  22  :  0 
nimis  optato  saeclormn  tempore 
nati  heroes ;  cf.  also  Mart  9, 81,  3  : 
non  nitniiim  euro.  —  velle  is  super- 
fluous, as  in  Cic.  Ahir.  25,  50 : 
nolite  a  me  commoner i  velle. 


2.  scire  utrum  sis  albus  an  ater : 
a  proverbial  phrase  ;  cf.  Cic.  Phil. 
2,  41  :  vide  quam  te  amarit  is.  qui 
albus  aterne  fuerit  ignoras  ;  Apul. 
Apol.  1 6  :  libenter  te  .  .  .  albus  an 
aier  esses,  ignoravi ',  cf.  also  Quint. 
II,  I,  38. 

95 

On  the  appearance  of  the 
Zuiyrna,  a  carefully  elaborated 
poem  by  his  friend  C.  Helvius 
Cinna,  Catullus  compares  this  work 
favorably  with  the  attempts  of 
three  inferior  poets.  There  is  no 
need  of  separating  vv.  9-10  from 
the  rest  of  the  poem. 

I.  Zmyrna:  another  name  for 
Myrrha,  whose  unnatural  love  for 
her  father,  Cinyras,  was  the  theme 
of  the  poem  and  gave  it  its  name. 
The  story  is  related  in  Ovid,  Met. 
i9f  298  sqq.  The  inconsiderable 
fragments  are  collected  in  Baeh- 
rens's  Frag.  Poet.  Rom.,  p.  324.  — 
nonam  :  cf.  Quint.  10,  4,  4  :  Cinnae 
Zmyrtiam  vovem  annis  accepimi/s 
scriptam.  Horace  is  very  likely 
alluding  to  this  case  when  he  rec- 


lOQ 


95.  3] 


CATVLLI 


milia  cum  interea  quingenta  Hortensius  uno 


Zmyrna  cavas  Satrachi  penitus  mittetur  ad  undas, 
Zmyrnam  cana  diu  saecula  pervoluent. 

at  Volusi  annales  Paduam  morientur  ad  ipsam 
et  laxas  scombris  saepe  dabunt  tunicas. 


ommends  that  a  book  (A.  P., 
V.  388)  nonunique  pre»iatJir  in 
annum.  Such  exhaustive  careful- 
ness was  more  a  proof  of  the  eru- 
dition to  be  expected  from  its 
Alexandrian  tone  than  of  great 
poetic  power ;  and  we  are  not 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  poem 
was  so  obscure  even  at  the  time 
of  its  appearance  that  scholars 
wrote  learned  commentaries  to 
explain  its  meaning.  For  the 
construction,  see  A.  424  f 

2.  edita  :  sc.  esi . 

3.  milia  .  .  .  quingenta  :  a  mere 
hyperbole  for  an  indefinitely  large 
number.  Cf.  9,  i  :  I'erani,  omni- 
bus e  meis  amicis  antistans  milii 
milibus  irecentis.  —  Hortensius  :  cf. 
Intr.  to  No.  65.  What  caused  Ca- 
tullus to  feel  so  differently  towards 
him  at  this  time  can  only  be 
conjectured.  It  may  be  remarked, 
however,  in  general,  that  to  criti- 
cize the  work  of  another  poet  is 
quite  another  thing  from  being 
invited  to  contribute  one's  own 
poetic  effusions.  —  uno  :  anjiOr- 
mense,  and  die  hay£^ Jjaertlsiig- 
gested  by  different  editors  as_ 
probable  nouns  in  the  missing 
v^4,~vvhiclf  may^be  variously  sup- 

.plied.  In  any  case,  the  idea  must 
Ihave    been   an    unfavorable    con- 


trast between  the  rapid  work  of 
Hortensius  and  the  carefully  fin- 
ished Zmyrna.  Cf  Hor.  Sat. 
I,  4,  9-16. 

5.  cavas:  'deep';  cf.  17,  4: 
cavaque  in  palude ;  Luc.  i ,  396  : 
cavo  tentoria  fixa  Lemanno.  — 
Satrachi :  the  Satrachus  was  an 
obscure Jnland  stream  in  Cyprus. 
It  was  in  this  region  that  the  story 
of  Zmyrna  was  located.  — penitus  : 
'  far  inland.'' 

6.  cana:  'hoary';  cf.  iMart.  8, 
80,  2  :  nee  pateris,  Caesar,  saecula 
cana  mori.  —  pervoluent :  cf.  Intr. 

§  43- 

7.  Volusi :  the  same  tiresome 
versifier  is  referred  to  in  No.  36. 
For  an  elaborate  argument  to 
identify  him  with  Tanusius  Gemi- 
nus  see  Friedrich  on  this  passage. 
—  ipsam :  the  emphasis  thus  put 
upon  Padua  indicates  this  place  as 
the  home  of  Volusius,  whose  prosy 
verses  will  never  travel  farther 
than  their  birthplace,  as  contrasted 
with  theimaginative  workof  Cinna, 
which  is  to  penetrate  to  the  remot- 
est parts  of  the  earth. 

8.  laxas :  because  the  material 
is  abundant.  —  tunicas  :  i.e.  wrap- 
ping paper.  The  idea  is  borrowed 
by  Martial  (4,  86. 8)  :  nee  scombris 
tunicas  dabis  molestas. 


no 


CARMINA 


[96,  4 


10 


parva  mei  mihi  sint  cordi  monumenta  sodalis 
at  populus  tumido  gaudeat  Antimacho. 


96 


Si  quicquam  mutis  gratum  acceptumve  sepulcris 
accidere  a  nostro,  Calve,  dolore  potest, 

quo  desiderio  veteres  renovamus  amores 
atque  olim  missas  flemus  amicitias, 


95.    9.    sodalis  -written  by  a  rjth  cent,  hand  at  end  of  verse  in  R  omitted 
inV. 


9.  parva  :  the  Zmyrna  was  but 
a  short  poem.  —  sodalis:  cf.  10, 
29  :  )neus  sodalis  Cinna  est  Gains. 

10.  populus :  '  the  multitude,' 
who,  of  course,  lack  literary  appre- 
ciation of  the  best.  —  tumido  : 
'wordy.'  —  Antimacho:  a  volumi- 
nous epic  and  elegiac  poet  of  Colo- 
phon, who  lived  about  400  B.C., 
and  in  popular  esteem  was  ad- 
judged one  of  the  greatest  of 
Greek  poets.  Cf.  Intr.  §  6 ;  Cic 
Brut.  191;  Quint.  10,  i,  53:  ei 
secitndas  fere  gramtnaticorufn 
consensus  defer  at. 

96 

The  brevity  and  delicacy  of 
thisjittle  elegy  to  his  dear  friend 
Calvus  on  the  death  of  his  be- 
loved Quintilia  prove  Catullusa 
true  poet  and  master  of  the  art  of 
rnnsnl3tinn"  To  tlTe  genuine  com- 
radeship of  these  two  early  Roman 


elegiac  writers  such  poems  as 
Nos.  14,  50,  and  53  bear  ample 
testimony.  We  see  from  Prop. 
2,  34,  89,  that  Calvus  himself 
wrote  of  his  lost  Quintilia. 

1.  Si  quicquam:  this  condi- 
tional statement  of  immortality  is 
paralleled  often  in  Roman  litera- 
ture and  inscriptions.  Cf.  Ovid, 
Am.  3,  9,  59;  Cic.  Ad  Fa/fi.  4.  5, 
6;  Tac.  Agr.  46,  i;  C/L.  10. 
8 1 3 1 ,  14:  si  sapiunt  aliquid  post 
funera  Manes;  C/L.  6,  6250: 
bene  adqidescas,  Hilara,  si  quid 
sapiunt  inferi ;  also  K.  P.  H.  on 
"Conceptions  of  Death  and  Im- 
mortality in  Roman  Sepulchral 
Inscriptions,"  PAPA.,  Vol.  30, 
pp.  xxviii-xxxi. 

2.  nostro :  i.e.  of  the  living  in 
general. 

3.  desiderio:  in  apposition 
with  dolore. 

4.  missas :  '  lost,'  i.e.  relin- 
quished of  necessity. 


I  I  I 


96,  5] 


CATVLLl 


certe  non  tanto  mors  inmatura  dolori  est 
Quintiliae,  quantum  gaudet  amore  tuo. 


99 

Surripui  tibi,  dum  ludis,  mellite  luventi, 

saviolum  dulci  dulcius  ambrosia, 
verum  id  non  inpune  tuli :  namque  amplius  horam 

suffixum  in  summa  me  memini  esse  cruce, 
5        dum  tibi  me  purgo  nee  possum  fletibus  ullis 

tantillum  vestrae  demere  saevitiae. 

96.    5.    dolori  est  D  dolore  est  <o  dolor  est   VM  dolorist  Haupt  doloreist 
Ellis. 


6.    quantum  :  i.e.  gaudium. 

99 

Catullus  protests  against  the 
torture  inflicted  upon  him  by 
Juventius  in  punishment  for  a 
stolen  kiss.  The  series  of  poems 
connected  with  the  fondness  of 
Catullus  for  the  pretty  boy  Juven- 
tius includes  among  others  Nos. 
15,  24,  48,  81.  Some  editors  have 
argued  that  Juventius,  as  well  as 
Marathus.  the  boy  favorite  of  Ti- 
buUus,  are  mere  literary  fictions. 
It  seems  more  probable  that  Juven- 
tius, at  any  rate,  was  a  real  person, 
who  afforded  some  diversion  for 
the  poet's  affections  after  he  had 
finally  cast  off  Lesbia  as  unworthy. 

1.  mellite :  cf.  48,  1-3 :  nielli- 
tos  ocjilos  tuos,  Iiiventi,  siqiiis  me 
sitiat  usque  basiare,  usque  ad 
milia  basiefu  t  recent  a. 

2.  saviolum :  a  rare  example 
of  Catullus's    favorite  diminutive 


formation ;  cf.  v.  14 ;  perhaps 
only  in  these  two  instances.  — 
dulci  dulcius :  cf.  v.  14 ;  also  22, 
14:  infaceto  est  infacetior  rure ; 
etc. 

3.  namque  .  .  .  memini:  'I 
guess  I  didn't  !  For  I  haven't  for- 
gotten how,'  etc. 

4.  summa  .  .  .  cruce :  cf.  Eng. 
'  on  the  hatchel.'  The  kind  of 
crucifixion  involving  impalement 
brought  the  greatest  torture  to  the 
victim  ;  cf.  Sen.  Ad  Marciam  de 
Cons.  20,  3 :  cruces  non  unius 
quidem  generis.,  .  .  .  alii  per  ob- 
scena  stipitem  egerunt ;  Ep.  i  o  i , 
1 2  :  siiffigas  licet  et  acutam  sessuro 
crucem  subdas. 

5.  tibi :' in  your  eyes.' — purgo: 
used  with  conative  force  ;  A.  467. 

6.  tantillum :  '  a  particle  ' ;  cf. 
the  slang  expression,  '  not  a  little 
bit.'  —  vestrae  :  referring  not  to 
the  individual,  but  to  the  class  to 
which  Juventius  belonged. 


112 


CAR  M  IN  A 


[lOI,    2 


nam  simul  id  factum  est,  multis  diluta  labella 

guttis  abstersisti  omnibus  articulis, 
ne  quicquam  nostro  contractum  ex  ore  maneret, 
lo  tamquam  conmictae  spurca  saliva  lupae. 

praeterea  infesto  miserum  me  tradere  Amori 

non  cessasti  omnique  excruciare  modo, 
ut  mi  ex  ambrosia  mutatum  iam  foret  illud 

saviolum  tristi  tristius  hellebore. 
15      quam  quoniam  poenam  misero  proponis  amori, 

numquam  iam  posthac  basia  surripiam. 


lOI 

Multas  per  gentes  et  multa  per  aequora  vectus 
advenio  has  miseras,  frater,  ad  inferias, 

99.    8.    abstersisti  w  abstersti  0  astersi  GM. 


7.  id  :  the  stealing  of  the  kiss. 

8.  guttis:  i.e.  of  water.  —  arti- 
culis: 'fingers';  cf.  Prop.  2,  34, 
80 :  Cynthiiis  inpositis  teinperat 
articulis. 

9.  contractum:  cf.  the  Eng. 
'contract  a  disease';  Plin.  N.H. 
36,  27,  69 :  pestilentiae  quae  ob- 
scuratione  solis  contrahitur. 

10.  Cf.  78,  8  :  savia  conminxit 
spurca  saliva  tua. 

11.  Amori:  i.e.  as  to  an  execu- 
tioner. The  offishness  of  Juven- 
tius  made  the  flames  of  CatuUus's 
love  burn  all  the  hotter. 

14.    tristi  tristius :  cf.  v.  2,  n. 

^5.  Catullus  shows  philosophic 
jnsight  into  the  boyish  contrariness 
of  Juventius,  and  meeting  him  on 
his  own  ground  is  likely  to  win 
the  day. 

•ROM.  EL.  POETS  —  8  I 


101 

Written  on  visiting  his  brother's 
tomb  at  Rhoeteum,  and  probably 
used  as  an  epitaph  there.  This 
visit  must  have  been  made  on  his 
way  to  Bithynia  with  Memmius  in 
57  B.C.,  rather  than  on  the  return 
journey,  and  was  indeed  one  of  the 
principal  motives  that  prompted 
him  to  go  to  the  East  at  that  time. 
Cf.  65,  5-1  f  ;  68,  19-24,  89-100; 
also  Tennyson's  familiar  poem. 

I .  per  gentes :  i.e.  past  their 
shores,  while  multa  per  aequora 
means  'over'  many  seas.  Some 
of  the  seas  were  doubtless 
the  Ionian,  the  Sicilian,  the  Cre- 
tan, the  Myrtoan,  the  Aegean. 
To  a  landsman  who  had  traveled 
little  by  either  land  or  sea,  this 


I^ 


loi,  3] 


CATVLLI 


lo 


ut  te  postremo  donarem  munere  mortis 

et  mutam  nequiquam  adloquerer  cinerem, 
quandoquidem  fortuna  mihi  tete  abstulit  ipsum, 

heu  miser  indigne  frater  adempte  mihi. 
nunc  tamen  interea  liaec  prisco  quae  more  parentum 

tradita  sunt  tristis  munera  ad  inferias 
accipe  fraterno  multum  manantia  fletu, 

atque  in  perpetuum,  frater,  ave  atque  vale. 


verse  must  have  seemed  literally 
true.  Cf.  Verg.  Ae/i.  6,  692  : 
guas  ego  te  terras  et  quanta  per 
aequora  vectutn  accipio.  —  vectus 
is  to  be  taken  closely  with  ad- 
venio,  so  that  the  expression  = 
iani  diu  vehor  et  tiunc  adveni ; 
hence   the   tense   of   donarem    in 

V.  3- 

2.    inferias :    as   his   brother  is 

already  buried,  and  no  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family  are  present,  the 
funeral  rites  are  necessarily  much 
abridged  in  this  case,  and  perhaps 
consist  essentially  only  in  the  plac- 
ing of  this  epitaph  and  the  final 
adieu,  spoken  in  v.  10,  without 
the  garlands,  perfumes,  and  other 
features  of  more  elaborate  cere- 
monies. 

5.  fortuna  :  '  misfortune,'  as  in 
64,  218. — tete:  cf  30,  7:  certe 
tute  iubebas- 

6.  Cf.  68,  20  and  92 ;  Ovid, 
Fast.  4,  852  :  atque  ait  '  invito 
frater  adempte,  vale ! ' 

7.  nunc:  'even  as  it  is.'  — 
interea  merely  intensifies  tamen, 
without  any  distinct  notion  of  time. 
Cf  Ciris,  44  :  haec  tamen  interea 
.  .   .  accipe  dona  (an  imitation  of 


this  passage)  ;  Lucr.  5,  83 :  si 
tauten  interea  miranlur.  —  more 
parentum :  cf.  CIL.  9,  4508,  i  : 
frater,  post  tempora  nostra  ma- 
iorum  ut  faceres  more  suprema 
miJii. 

8.    ad  inferias:  purpose  ace. 

g.  fraterno  multum  manantia 
fletu:  cf.  Mart.  6,  85,  11  :  accipe 
cum  fletu  inaesti  breve  carmen 
amici  atque  haec  absentis  tura 
fuisse  put  a . 

10.  in  perpetuum:  this  com- 
mon phrase  does  not  refer  to  the 
mortality  of  the  soul,  but  merely 
to  the  irrevocable  fact  of  death  ; 
cf.  the  Christian  inscriptions, 
Buecheler,  Car.  Lat.  Epig.  734, 
10  :  Paula  soror  tumidum  dedit  et 
solacia  magni  parva  tulit  luctus, 
tristiqtie  heu  pectore  ^  salve  per- 
petuoi}ique  vale  frater  carissime  ' 
dixit;  737,  10:  iam  vale perpetuo 
dulcis  et  in  pace  quiesce.  —  ave 
atque  vale :  such  novissima  verba 
were  regularly  employed  at  the 
close  of  funeral  rites ;  cf.  Verg. 
Aen.  6,  231  :  lustravitque  viros 
dixit  que  novissima  verba ;  11, 
97  :  salve  aetermim  7/tihi,  maxime 
Palla,  aeternumque  vale. 

14 


CARMINA 


[107,  6 


Si  quicquam  tacito  commissum  est  fido  ab  amico, 

cuius  sit  penitus  nota  fides  animi, 
meque  esse  invenies  illorum  iure  sacratum, 

Corneli,  et  factum  me  esse  puta  Harpocratem. 

107 

1 

Si  quoi  quid  cupido  optantique  obtigit  umquam 
insperanti,  hoc  est  grati^m  animo  proprie. 

quare  hoc  est  gratum  nobis  quoque,  carius  auro, 
quod  te  restituis,  Lesbia,  mi  cupido, 

restituis  cupido  atque  insperanti,  ipsa  refers  te 
nobis,     o  hicem  candidiore  nota  ! 


107.    I.    quoi    quid    Ribbeck    quicquid    GM    quid    quid    0    quicquam    D. 


102 

An  unknown  Cornelius  is  as- 
sured that  Catullus  can  keep  a 
secret. 

1.  tacito:  i.e.  to  one  that 
knows  how  to  hold  his  tongue. 

2.  cuius :  the  antecedent  is 
tacito.  —  animi :  for  the  pleonasm 
cf.  68,  26;  Lucr.  i,  307:  itinor 
aqimi. 

3.  meque  =  me  qiioque;  cf. 
31,  13:  gmidete  vosqiie ;  Prop.  3, 
I,  35.  — illorum:  such  as  the  pre- 
vious verses  have  described.  — 
iure :  '  oath.' 

4.  Harpocratem :  the  Greek 
name  of  the  younger  Egyptian 
divinity  Horus.  who  came  to  be 
regarded  as  the  god  of  si- 
lence. 


107 

The  joy  of  Catullus  on  the  un- 
expected return  of  Lesbia  after  an 
estrangement.  Evidently  written 
before  any  serious  rupture  in  their 
intimacy  occurred.  The  repeti- 
tions in  the  phraseology  (see  vv. 
I  and  4,  2  and  3,  4  and  5)  are 
noteworthy  as  an  indication  of  his 
rapturous  excitement. 

1.  cupido:  cf.  68,  158,  n. 

2.  hoc:  used  of  the  general 
proposition,  while  in  v.  3  it  refers  to 
this  particular  case  as  stated  in  v.  4. 

3.  nobis:  cf.  116,  3,  n.  —  carius 
auro:  cf.  Tib.  i,  8,  31  :  carior  est 
auro  iuvenis. 

5.  ipsa:    'of  your  own  accord.' 

6.  candidiore  nota :  lucky  or 
happy  days  were  marked  with  a 


115 


I07.  7] 


CATVLLI 


quis  me  uno  vivit  felicior,  aut  magis  hac  rem 
optandam  in  vita  dicere  quis  poterit  ? 


io8 

Si,  Comini,  populi  arbitrio  tua  cana  senectus 

spurcata  inpuris  moribus  intereat, 
non  equidem  dubito  quin  primum  inimica  bonorum 

lingua  execta  avido  sit  data  vulturio, 


107.  7.  hac  rem  Postgate  hac  e  0  me  est  GM  hac  res  Lachmann.  S.  op- 
tandam in  Postgate  optandus  VM  optandas  Lachmann  magi'  mi  esse  optan- 
dum  in  Statins. 

108.  I.  Si,  Comini,  Guarinus  sic  homini  VM.  populi  arbitrio  Statins 
popular! -arbitrio    VM.        4.   execta  w  exercla  0  exerta  GM  excerpta  Ellis. 


white   chalk  mark  or  by  a  white 
stone;  cf.  68,  148,  n. 

8.  in  vita  :  cf.  Prop.  2,  9.  43  : 
te  nihil  in  vita  nobis  acceptius 
umqtiam. 

108 

The  subject  of  this  lampoon 
was  probably  one  of  two  brothers 
Cominius  of  Spoletium.  who  played 
a  prominent  part  as  prosecutors. 
an  especially  unpopular  case  being 
their  prosecution  of  C.  Cornelius 
in  66  B.C.,  and  the  following 
year,  when  he  was  defended  by 
Cicero. 

I.  cana  senectus:  cf.  61.  162: 
cana  .   .   .  anilitas. 

3 .  inimica  bonorum :  perhaps 
some  of  the  special  friends  of  Ca- 
tullus had  been  attacked ;  at  any 
rate,  remembering  the  poet's  im- 


pulsiveness and  extravagance  in 
his  expressions,  we  need  not  at 
once  convict  Cominius  of  being 
such  a  mon.ster  of  iniquity  as  he 
is  here  described. 

4.  execta  =  exsecta.  —  sit  data  : 
it  is  doubtful  whether  the  tense 
has  any  special  significance  here, 
any  more  than  the  rather  frequent 
active  forms  in  tenses  of  com- 
pleted action  found  in  the  elegiac 
writers,  where  tenses  of  incomplete 
action  would  be  expected.  Cf. 
Tib.  I,  I,  29,  n. —  vulturio:  all  the 
creatures  enumerated  here  are  of 
the  sort  that  viciously  peck  or 
snap  at  other  flesh,  so  that  the 
comparison  in  each  case  is  appro- 
priate ;  cf.  Ovid,  Ibis,  169-172: 
ungitibus  et  rostro  crttdtis  trahet 
ilia  vtiltiir.,  et  scindent  avidi  perfida 
cor  da  canes.,  deque  tuo  fiet  —  licet 


116 


CARMINA 


[109,  6 


effossos  oculos  voret  atro  gutture  corvus, 
intestina  canes,  cetera  membra  lupi. 


109 

lucundum,  mea  vita,  mihi  proponis  amorem 
hunc  nostrum  inter  nos  perpetuumque  fore. 

di  magni,  facite  ut  vere  promittere  possit 
atque  id  sincere  dicat  et  ex  animo, 

ut  liceat  nobis  tota  perducere  vita 

aeternum  hoc  sanctae  foedus  amicitiae. 

109.    5.    perducere  VRM  producere  w. 


hac  sis  laude  siiperbus  —  insatia- 
bilibus  cor  pore  rixa  In  pis. 

5.  effossos  .  .  .  voret:  'peck 
and  devour.'  Cf.  Vulg.  Prov.  30, 
17:  ociilmn  .  .  .  effodiant  ei{//i 
corvi.  —  atro:  'ugly,'  not  merely 
black;  cf.  Tib.  i,  3,  4. 

109 

A  prayer  that  Lesbia's  hope  for 
future  unalloyed  affection  between 
herself  and  her  lover  may  be  real- 
ized. It  is  clear,  however,  that 
past  experience  has  already  given 
ground  for  anxiety  on  the  part  of 
the  poet,  so  that  he  lacks  absolute 
confidence. 

I.  mea  vita:  cf.  68,  155. — 
proponis  amorem  hunc  .  .  .  fore : 
*  declare  that  this  love  of  ours  shall 
be.'  That  Catullus  regards  this 
declaration  as  a  promise  is  seen 
in  promittere  (v.  3).     Merrill  cites 


Caes.  B.C.  5,  58,  5  :  magna 
prop07iit  iis  qui  occiderittt  prae- 
mia. 

3.  di  magni:  here  not  an  idle 
exclamation,  but  a  genuine  ad- 
dress. —  possit :  Catullus  perhaps 
had  reason  to  mistrust  Lesbia's 
capability  to  be  ingenuous.  Here 
he  is  probably  secretly  wondering 
whether  she  can  be  sufficiently 
freed  from  other  attachments  to 
make  her  promise  an  honest 
one. 

4.  Cf.  Ter.  Eiin.  175  :  utina/n 
isttic  verbiDH  ex  animo  ac  vere  di- 
cer es. 

5.  perducere  :  cf.  Lucr.  5,  1027  : 
nee  potuisset  adhiic  perducere  sae- 
cla  propago. 

6.  aeternum:  'lasting';  cf. 
Cic.  In  Cat.  4,  22 :  quare  mihi 
cum  perditis  civibus  aeternum 
bellum  susceptufH  esse  video. 

17 


n6,  i] 


CATVLLI 


ii6 


Saepe  tibi  studioso  animo  venante  requirens 

carmina  uti  possem  mittere  Battiadae, 
qui  te  lenirem  nobis,  neu  conarere 

telis  infestum  mittere  in  usque  caput, 
hunc  video  mihi  nunc  frustra  sumptum  esse  laborem, 

Gelli,  nee  nostras  hie  valuisse  preces. 
contra  nos  tela  ista  tua  evitamus  amictu : 

at  fixus  nostris  tu  dabi'  supplicium. 


116 

On  the  failure  of  the  poet's  at- 
tempts to  conciliate  Gellius ;  cf. 
Nos.  74,  80,  88,  90,  91,  for  the 
virulent  attacks  which  doubtless 
prevented  any  further  friendship 
between  their  object  and  their 
author. 

1.  studioso:  dat.  As  a 
'  learned "  man  he  would  be  more 
apt  to  appreciate  the  poetry  of  the 
^  doct7is^  Callimachus. 

2.  carmina  :  sc.  expressa.  — 
Battiadae  :   cf.  65,  16,  n. 

3.  (]VLi  =  qieibus.  — nobis  =  w//?/, 
although  it  stands  so  close  to  leni- 
rem ;  cf.  vv.  5-8;  107,  3-6. — 
This  verse  is  composed  entirely 
of  spondees.     Cf.  Intr.  §42,  I  (3). 

4.  in  \isqaQ  =  i(sque  in  :  'at  my 
very  head.' 


6.  hie  :  '  in  this  respect.' 

7.  contra :  adv.  :  my  tactics 
are  now  changed,  and  I  am  pre- 
pared to  defend  myself  and  to 
strike  home  at  your  weak  points. 
—  amictu  :  i.e.  the  fold  of  the  toga 
around  the  left  arm  is  sutificient  for 
defense,  because  your  weapons  are 
so  harmless.  Cf.  Pacuv.  186: 
clamide  contorta  astu  clupeat  brac- 
cium ;  Petron.  80  :  intorto  circa 
brachium  pallio  conposui  ad  proe- 
liandiitn  graduin. 

8.  dabi' :  the  archaic  elision  of 
final  s,  which  occurs  frequently  in 
Lucretius  and  in  Cicero's  early 
poetic  attempts,  occurs  only  here 
in  their  contemporary  Catullus. 
Cicero  already  counsels  its  avoid- 
ance in  Oral.  161.  Cf.  LSHLG. 
p.  36,  n.  2.  -.    -  --  ; 


I£8 


TIBULLUS   MSS.   SIGNS 

A  =  Codex  Ambrosianus, 

V  =  Codex  Vaticanus. 

G  =  Codex  Guelferbytanus. 

0  =  Consensus  of  AVG. 

Y=  Codex  Eboracensis. 

P  =  Excerpta  Parisina, 

M=  Excerpta  Frisingensia. 

F  =  Fragmentum  Cuiacianum. 

u  =  late  or  inferior  Mss.,  or  corrections. 


1 20 


ALBII   TIBVLLI    ELEGIARVM 


LIBER   PRIMVS 


Divitias  alius  fulvo  sibi  congerat  auro 
et  teneat  culti  iugera  multa  soli, 

1.       2.   multa   GPM    magna    AVY. 


Wdlie^  probably  in  tli£-earlv 
parL-pf  R  r.  ?.(>>(cf.  Intr.  §23), 
perhaps  on  his  country  estate  at 
Pedum.  This  elegy  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  collection,  not  chrono- 
logically, but   as   a  typical   repre- 

gpnjafivf  nf  thp  WOfl-'   "f  Tlhiillns, 

setting  forth  his  tastes  and  ideals, 
and  serving  as  a  kind  of  a  dedica- 
tion_of„BQ.Qk_i.  to  Delia,  who  is 
here  brought  forward  as_the  x^ji- 
ter  of  his  hopes  and  joys.  The 
poet  signifies  his  prefereii£e_ibr 
living  in  peaceful  retirement__Q" 
h i s  family  estates,  enjoying  the 
delights  and  freedom  of  ruraljife 
rather  than  encountering  the  hard- 
ships and  perils  of  a  soldier,  even 
for  the  wealth  that  might  be  thus 
acquired.  The  acme  of  his  hopes, 
however,  isto  be  found  in  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  favor  nf  his  htj-inved 
Delia  till  his  dying  clay:. 

Haase,  Ribbeck.  Baehrens,  and 


others,  by  their  transposition  of 
verses,  have  wrought  havoc  with 
the  gentle  ebb  and  flow  of  the 
poetic  thought  so  characteristic 
of  Tibullus,  which  is  illustrated  in 
this  poem  as  well  as  in  any.  The 
theme,  briefly  stated  in  vv.  1-14, 
is  twice  repeated  in  reverse  order 
(15-36,  37-50),  and  the  third  time 
(51-78)  the  erotic  element  in  his 
longing  for  a  quiet  stay-at-home 
life  is  expanded  to  the  end  of  the 
elegy.  Cf.  Vahlen,  Monatsber.  d. 
Be?-.  Akad.  1878,  pp.  343  sqq.  ; 
Leo,  pp.  28  sqq.  For  a  more 
artificial  analysis  cf.  K.  P.  H. 
in  PAPA.,Vo\.  26  (1895),  p.  viii. 
For  an  appreciation  of  the  gen- 
uineness of  its  feeling,  cf.  Reit- 
zenstein  in  Hermes  47  (1912), 
pp.  60-1 16. 

1-14  :  •  Let  another  endure  the 
hardships  and  risks  of  a  soldiers 
life  for  the  wealth  that  he  may 
thus  gain :  but  let  me  rather  pass 
my    days    in    the   quiet,    humble 

21 


1.3] 


TIBVLLI 


quern  labor  adsiduus  vicino  terreat  hoste, 
Martia  cui  somnos  classica  pulsa  fugent 


country  life  of  my  own  little  farm, 
thanking  the  gods  for  a  modest 
competence.'  15-36:  (The  pre- 
vious thought  in  reverse  order), 
'To  you,  rustic  divinities  of  my 
now  hurnble  possessions,  will  1 
offer  appropriate  sacrifices,  if  only 
you  will  let  me  enjoy  them  in 
peace,  be  my  own  gardener,  my 
own  shepherd,  and  be  undisturbed 
by  either  thieves  or  wolves.'  2>1~ 
50 :  The  same  thought  expressed 
for  the  third  time,  in  the  same 
order  as  in  the  previous  section. 
In  V.  46  the  erotic  element  is  in- 
troduced, to  be  expanded  in  the 
last  division  of  file  elegy.  51-78: 
'  Yes,  Messalla  and  his  legions 
shall  win  their  trophies  on  land 
and  sea ;  but  as  for  me.  let  me  en- 
joy my  Delia's  unfailing  love  while 
life  endures,  and  live  contented 
with  my  little  store.' 

1.  f ulvo :  cf.  3,  I,  88. — con- 
gerat :  hort.  subj.  —  auro  :  abl. 
instr. 

2.  culti .  .  .  soli:  the  well-tilled 
farms  of  other  owners  were  often 
confiscated  and  allotted  by  victori- 
ous generals  to  their  soldiers,  as 
by  Augustus  more  than  once. 
The  story  of  the  loss  and  recovery 
of  Vergil's  estates  near  Mantua  is 
well  known ;  it  is  not  impossible 
that  Tibullus  may  have  had  some 
similar  experience,  to  which  refer- 
ence is  made  in  the  various  pas- 
sages suggesting  that  his  wealth 
had    been    seriously    diminished. 


such  as  vv.  5,  ig-20,  37,  41.  Gold 
and  lands  were  the  two  sources  of 
wealth  for  which  Roman  soldiers 
followed  their  profession.  Ull- 
man,  however,  argues  {AJP.,  Vol. 
33  (1912),  pp.  160  sqq.)  that  the 
property  of  Tibullus  had  been  re- 
duced from  its  ancestral  propor- 
tions more  probably  by  extrav- 
agance on  the  part  of  his  father ; 
cf.  Hor.  Sat.  i,  4,  28:  stupet 
Atbucs  acre.  - —  iugera  multa  :  cf. 
2,  3,  42 :  id  mjilta  inmunera 
iugera  pascat  oz>e ;  3,  3,  5  ;  Ovid, 
I^^ast.  3,  192  :  iugeraque  .  .  .  paiica 
tcnere  soli;  K.  P.  H.  in  Class. 
Rev.,  Vol.  9  (1895),  p.  108.  For 
indications  that  his  iugera  were 
not  now  /nulla,  see  previous  note. 

3.  guem  .  .  .  terreat :  best  re- 
garded as  subj-  of  characteristic, 
\\kQ__^ugciii~  in  the  next  verse.— 
labor  adsiduus  :  the  various  routine 
duties  of  a  Roman  soldier's  life  in 
camp,  including  foraging  amid  the 
peril  of  an  attack,  which  naturally 
terreat. 

4.  somnos :  the  plural  refers 
to  the  repeated  instances  of  the 
experience  which  this  verse  de- 
scribes. Cf.  v.  27,  n. — classica: 
for  the  evolution  of  the  word's 
meaning  cf.  R.  1097.  From  the 
idea  of  being-a-meajis^-of  distin- 
guishing or  summoning  \\\^  classes 
it  came  to  refer  to  the  thing  so 
used,  ie.  the  trumpet. — pulsa: 
an  expression  transferred  from 
stringed  to  wind  instruments. 


122 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[I.  9 


me  mea  paupertas  vita  traducat  inerti, 
dum  meus  adsiduo  luceat  igne  focus. 

ipse  seram  teneras  maturo  tempore  vites 
rusticus  et  facili  grandia  poma  manu  : 

nee  Spes  destituat,  sed  frugum  semper  acervos 


5.  vita  PM  vite  (=  vitae)  A. 


5.    me :  for  the  liberal  use   of 
personal  pronouns  cf.  vv.  35,  41, 

49.  53.  55.  57.  75'  11  \  3.  3;  etc. 
—  paupertas  :  not  to  h£_interpreted 
tOoJiteraHy,  hnt  rntlipr  as  a  plnyfiil 
comparison  with  the  divitias  of 
the  professional  soldier.  So  Hor- 
ace in  Sat.  I,  6,  71  speaks  of  his 
father  as  f/iacro  pauper  agello,  yet 
proceeds  to  tell  how  this  same 
father  was  able  to  give  him  at 
Rome  an  education  as  good  as  the 
sons  of  rich  men  enjoyed,  and 
adds  :  vestem  servosqite  seqieentes, 
in  magno  let  popnlo,  st  qui  indisset, 
avita  ex  7'e  praeberi  suiiipius  iiiilii 
Cfederet  illos.  And  Horace  says 
of  Tibullus  {Ep.  I,  4,  7)  :  di  tibi 
divitias  dedentnt  arteniqite  fru- 
endi.  —  vita  :  abl.  of  the  way  by 
which:  cf.  Hirt.  B.G.%,2'] :  nisi 
fluinine  Ligeri  .  .  .  copias  tra- 
duxisset.  For  a  different  con- 
struction cf.  C/Z,  6,  12072,  11: 
ut  lottginn  vitae  liceat  tra/isditcere 
tempiis. — traducat:  i.e.  through 
life.  —  inerti:  cf.  vv.  58,  71.  It 
was  on  account  of  the  prominence 
of  this  thought  in  this  poem  (the 
word  does  not  occur  in  any  other 
elegy  of  Tibullus)  that  Vahlen  pro- 
posed to  read  iain  modo  iners  in 
V.  25. 

I 


6.  adsiduo  .  .  .  igne :  '■  with 
steady  glow ' ;  cf.  v.  3.  Such  rep- 
etitions  of  a  word  are  common 
enough  in  Tibullus  (cf.  previous 
note) .  —  focus  :  the  hearth  fire  was 
essential  to  every  Roman  house ; 
indeed,  the  name  for  the  hearth  is 
often  used  by  metonymy  for  the 
home;  Ter.  Eun.  815  :  domi foci- 
qiie  fac  vicissim  ut  tnemineris ; 
Hor.  Ep.  I,  14,  I  :  agei/i,  qitein  hi 
fastidis,  liabitatuin  qitiiique  focis. 
The  depth  of  poverty  associated 
with  the  extinguished  hearth  fire  is 
indicated  in  Cat.  23,  1-2  :  Furi.,  cui 
neque  servus  neque  area  nee  citnex 
neqiie  araneus  neque  ignis ;  cf.  2, 

1,  22;  Verg.  Ee.  5,  70;  Mart.  10, 
47,  4  ;  et  passim. 

7.  ipse :  '  with  nijL.flwn  hand.' 
—  seram:  Vike _t£^[dueat  (v.  <i), 
opt,  subj. 

8.  rusticus  belongs  to  the 
predicate. — facili:  due  to  expe- 
rience. — -  grandia  :  '  sturdy,'  as 
contrasted  \\\ih  teneras  (v.  7). — 
poma  =  ponws ;    cf.  Verg.  Georg. 

2,  426;  but  in  v.  13  it  is  used  in 
the  ordinary  sense ;  the  regular 
pomus  occurs  in  2,  i,  43. 

9.  Spes  :  '  Hope,'  the  goddess 
of  the  sower  and  the  gardener. 
Very  appropriately  she  iiad  a  tern- 

23 


.o] 


TIBVLLI 


lo  praebeat  et  pleno  pinguia  musta  lacu. 

nam  veneror,  seu  stipes  habet  desertus  in  agris 

seu  vetus  in  trivio  florida  serta  lapis : 
et  quodcumque  mihi  pomum  novus  educat  annus, 
libatum  agricolae  ponitur  ante  deo. 
15      flava  Ceres,  tibi  sit  nostro  de  rure  corona 

12.    florida  0  flurea  w. 


pie  in  the  Forum  Holitorium  at 
Rome  ;  cf.  Preller^  Vol.  2,  p.  253. 
Cf.  also  2,6,  21.  —  destituat :  used 
absolutely  here.  —  frugum  :  the 
product  of  the  grandia  poma,  as 
musta  is  that  of  the  tenerae  vites. 

10.  pinguia:  'rich';  cf.  Hor. 
Sat.  2,4,  65  :  pingui  mero.  — 
lacu  :  the  trough-like  wine  vat  into 
which  the  juice  of  the  grape  ran 
when  first  pressed  out.  Cf.  2,  5, 
86. 

1 1 .  nam  :  '  and  I  have  good  rea- 
son to  hope,  for'  I  am  faithful  in  my 
worship  of  all  the  rustic  divinities, 
even  the  humblest.  For  this  ellip- 
tical use  of  na))u  cf.  Ter.  Ad.  190. 
—  stipes  .  .  .  lapis :  old  tree 
trunks,  stakes,  and  stones,  either 
plain,  or  rudely  carved,  often  rep- 
resented divinities  to  the  Romans, 
and  were  worshiped,  whether  stand- 
ing by  themselves  in  the  fields,  or 
set  up  at  the  crossroads.  Bound- 
ary stones  furnish  an  excellent  il- 
lustration ;  for  as  representatives 
of  the  god  Terminus  they  were 
honored  with  garlands  hung  upon 
them  at  certain  times.  Cf.  Ovid, 
Fast.  2,  641  sqq. :  Ter  mine,  sive 
lapis,  sive  es  defossus  in  agro  stipes., 
ab  antiqjiis  tu  qiioque  numen  /tabes. 


te  duo  diver sa  domini  de  parte  coro- 
na nt  binaque  serta  tibi  binaque 
liba  ferunt ;  Prop,  i,  4,  24; 
Lucr.  5,  1 199,  and  Munro's 
note  on  the  passage ;  Lucian, 
Alex.  30  ;  Champney,  p.  4.  —  de- 
sertu? : '  standing  alone,'  contrasted 
with  trivio  (v.  12). 

12.  florida:  for  the  more  exact 
florea;  cf.  i,  2,  14;  on  the  other 
hand  Vergil,  Aeii.  i,  430,  uses 
florea  for  florida. 

13.  novus  .  .  .  annus:  a  newly 
recurring  harvest  time. 

14.  libatum:  'as  a  consecrated 
offering.' — ante  :  adverbial. — deo  : 
in  the  collective  sense,  including 
Spes,  as  well  as  Vertumnus,  Po- 
mona, or  Silvanus.     Cf.  i,  5,  27. 

15.  flava  :  the  usual  epithet, 
transferred  to  the  goddess  from 
the  ripened  grain  which  she  rep- 
resents. Cf.  Servius  on  Verg. 
Georg.  1 ,  96  :  flava  dicitiir  prop- 
ter ar  tarum  coloreni  in  tnaturi- 
tate ;  Ovid,  Fast.  4.  424.  —  corona 
spicea :  the  most  appropriate  offer- 
ing ;  cf.  2,  I,  4;  I,  10,  22;  Hor. 
Car.  Saec.  29-30:  fertilis  frugum 
pecorisque  Tellus  spicea  donet  Cer- 
erem  corona  ;  Ovid,  Am.  3,  10,  3  ; 
Raum.  Denk.  p.  417. 


124 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    I 


[I.  25 


spicea,  quae  tempH  pendeat  ante  fores, 
pomosisque  ruber  custos  ponatur  in  hortis, 

terreat  ut  saeva  falce  Priapus  aves : 
vos  quoque,  felicis  quondam,  nunc  pauperis  agri 
20  custodes,  fertis  munera  vestra,  lares : 

turn  vitula  innumeros  lustrabat  caesa  iuvencos, 

nunc  agna  exigui  est  hostia  parva  soli : 
agna  cadet  vobis,  quam  circum  rustica  pubes 
clamet  'io  messes  et  bona  vina  date'  : 
25      iam  modo  iam  possim  contentus  vivere  parvo 

25.  iam  modo  iam  possim  M  iam  modo  non  possum  0  quippe  ego  iam 
possum  P  iam  modo  nunc  possum  w  iam  modo  si  possum  Lachmann  iam 
modo  iners  possim  Vahlen  iam  mihi,  iam  possim  Schneide'Lvin  dum  modo  iam 
possim  Baehrens. 


16.  ante  fores :  cf.  Prop.  4, 3,  17. 

17.  ruber  custos  :  wooden  fig- 
ures of  Priapus  were  commonly 
painted  with  vermilion  and  placed 
in  gardens,  where  they  served  as 
the  prototype  of  the  scarecrow  of 
to-day.  Cf.  Ovid, />/j/.  i,  415; 
at  ruber,  hortoruni  deciis  et  tntela, 
Priapus;  Verg.  Georg.  4,  no:  et 
custos  furum  atque  avium  cum 
falce  saligna  Hcllespontiaci  servet 
tutela  Priapi ;  Hor.  Sat.  i,  8,  3-8. 

18.  falce:  '  pruninghook,'  the 
gardener's  weapon.  —  Priapus  :  a 
god  of  fruitfulness  in  both  plants 
and  animals  ;  his  worship  was  not 
indigenous  in  Italy,  but  imported 
from  the  Asian  shores  of  the 
Hellespont.  Translate  in  apposi- 
tion with  ruber  custos. 

19.  felicis  quondam:  cf.  v.  2,  n. ; 
Verg.  Ec.  i,  7S  ■  He  meae  felix 
quondam  pecus  ite  capellae. 

20.  fertis:  the  present  of  cus- 
tomary  action. — munera  vestra: 


i.e.  those  usually  offered  as  most 
appropriate  ;  cf.  Hor.  Sat.  2,  5, 
1 2  :  dulcia  poma  et  quoscumque 
feret  cult  us  tibi  futtdus  honores, 
ante  larem  gustet  vetterabilior  tare 
dizies.  —  lares :  here  the  lares 
r u rales ;  for  their  nature  see  H. 
and  T.  §  189.  At  the  festival  of 
Ambarvalia  (cf  2,  i)  they  were 
honored  with  the  other  rural  di- 
vinities. 

21.  tum :  in  the  times  referred 
iom  felicis  quondatn  (v.  19). — 
lustrabat:  cf.  2,  1,1;  there  were 
several  festivals  of  purification, 
such  as  the  Ambarvalia  (2,  i),  the 
Palilia(2, 5,  85  sqq.),  and  the  Feriae 
Sementivae  {0\\di,  Fast,  i,  658); 
at  any  of  these  the  customs  de- 
scribed in  vv.  21-24  might  be  wit- 
nessed annually. 


25.    iam 


iam :    '  hence- 


forth ' ;  the  repetition  emphasizes 
the  idea  of  the  actual  completion 
of  his  military  experiences  and  of 


125 


I,  26] 


TIBVLLI 


-V 


nec  semper  longae  deditus  esse  viae, 
sed  canis  aestivos  ortus  vitare  sub  umbra 

arboris  ad  rivos  praetereuntis  aquae, 
nec  tamen  interdum  pudeat  tenuisse  bidentes 
30  aut  stimulo  tardos  increpuisse  boves, 

non  agnamve  sinu  pigeat  fetumve  capellae 

desertum  oblita  matre  referre  domum. 
at  vos  exiguo  pecori,  furesque  lupique, 

parcite :  de  magno  est  praeda  petenda  grege. 
35      hie  ego  pastoremque  meum  lustrare  quot  annis 


being.'  — 


his  having  obtained  from  now  on, 
without  interruption,  that  quiet 
life  which  he  desires.  For  the 
repetition,  with  inserted  word,  cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  12,  179.  —  modo  = 
dwnmodo.  —  possim  =  mihi  liceat. 
—  vivere  =  vitam  degere.  — parvo  : 
'  my  modest  competence.' 

26.  nec  :  '  without 
semper  impHes  the  rather  impa- 
tient memory  of  several  expedi- 
tions already  engaged  in.  —  viae  : 
'  marches.' 

27.  canis :  i.e.  the  dog  star, 
Sirius.  The  climax  of  summer 
heat  is  usually  coincident  with  the 
days  following  the  star's  appear- 
ance in  July,  and  the  ancients  re- 
garded it  as  a  cause  ;  cf.  the  modern 
expression,  '"dog  days";  cf.  1,4, 
6  :  aestivi  tempora  sicca  canis  ;  i , 
7,  21 .  —  ortus  :  plural,  referring  to 
the  daily  rising  of  the  sun  (and  the 
heat)  during  the  period  after  the 
canis  has  appeared.  Cf.  Hor.  Car. 
4.  15,  15;  I,  17,  17.  —  sub  umbra: 
cf.  Verg.  Ec.  1,1,1  \  Hor.    Car.  i. 


1,   21 
30- 


Epod. 


Lucr.   2, 


I 


28.  ad  rivos  :  cf  Ovid,  Rem. 
Am.  194:  ipse  pot es  rivos  ducere 
lenis  aquae;  Hor.  Epod.  2.  25: 
labuntnr  altis  interini  ripis  aquae  ; 
Lucr.  2,  29-30  :  prostrati  in 
gr amine  molli propter  aquae  rivum 
sub  ramis  arboris  altae. 

29.  tenuisse  :  there  is  no  appre- 
ciable difference  in  meaning  be- 
tween the  perfect  tense  here,  and 
in  v.  30,  and  the  present,  in  referre 
(v.  32).  The  perfect  forms  were 
sometimes  more  convenient  met- 
rically. Cf.  vv.  46  and  74  ;  also  i, 
10,  61-63  ;  Prop.  I,  I,  15  ;  17.  I. 
—  bidentes  :  a  common  garden 
implement. 

31.  agnamve  sinu:  cf.  Isaiah, 
40,  II:  "'He  shall  gather  the 
lambs  with  his  arm,  and  carry 
them  in  his  bosom." 

32.  oblita  matre  :  abl.  abs. 

35.  hie :  on  my  little  farm,  in 
contrast  to  the  preceding  verse. — 
-que  ...  at :  cf.  1,3,  25.  —  lus- 
trare :  the  annual  purification  here 
referred  to  took  place  at  the  Palilia 
(or  Parilia)  on  April  21  ;  cf.  nn. 
on  2,  5,  87,  and  90. 

26 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


[i,  46 


et  placidam  soleo  spargere  lacte  Palem. 
adsitis,  divi,  nee  vos  e  paupere  mensa 

dona  nee  e  puris  spernite  fictilibus. 
fietilia  antiquus  primum  sibi  feeit  agrestis 
40  pocula,  de  facili  eonposuitque  luto. 

non  ego  divitias  patrum  fructusque  require 

quos  tulit  antiquo  eondita  niessis  avo  : 
parva  seges  satis  est,  satis  est,  requiescere  lecto 

si  licet  et  ^lito  membra  levare  toro. 
45      quam  iuvat  inmites  ventos  audire  cubantem 

et  dominam  tenero  continuisse  sinu 

46.    continuisse  0  detinuisse  Y  turn  tenuisse  Baehrens, 


36.  placidam :  used  prolepti- 
cally. 

37.  paupere  mensa  :  in  con- 
trast to  the  expensive  tables  of 
the  rich,  a  kind  of  extravagance 
which  was  a  special  fad  at  Rome  ; 
cf.  B.  G.,  pp.  294-296. 

38.  fictilibus  :  although  Tibul- 
lus  appears  to  be  pleading  his 
poverty  as  an  excuse  for  using 
earthenware  dishes  instead  of  ves- 
sels ot  silver  and  gold  in  sacrific- 
ing to  the  gods,  as  a  matter  of 
fact  it  was  the  well-known  con- 
servatism always  attaching  to  re- 
ligious rites  which  required  that 
the  old-fashioned  sacrificial  vessels 
of  pottery  should  be  retained  even 
long  after  this  time.  Cf.  Lanciani, 
Anc.  Rome  in  the  Light  of  Mod. 
Disc,  p.  43  ;  Pliny,  N.H.  35,  46  : 
in  sacris  qiiidem  etiain  inter  has 
opes  hodie  non  mtirrinis  crystal- 
linisve,  sed  fictilibus  prolibatnr  ; 


Juv.  6,  342-345.  With  the  general 
idea  of  vv.  38-39  cf.  i,  10,  17-18. 
40.  facili :  in  the  passive  sense, 
'plastic'  —  For  the  position  of  ego 
cf.  BPll''.,  Vol.  18  (1898).  Sp.  213  ; 
for  -que  before  a  dissyllable  ending 
a  pentameter  cf.  v.  78 ;  Intr.  §  28. 

42.  eondita  :   '  ingathered.' 

43.  satis  est :  for  similar  repeti- 
tions, which  are  quite  in  the  man- 
ner of  Tibullus,  cf.  I,  3,  4-5  ;  i,  2, 
29-30  ;  I,  5,  61-65  ;  2,  5,  100; 
Prop.  2,  13,  25. 

44.  solito  :  cf.  Ovid,  Trist.  3,  3, 
39.  —  toro:  properly  the  bedding 
or  covering,  the  part  upon  which 
the  body  lies,  as  distinguished 
from  lectus  as  a  whole. 

45.  iuvat  :  with  the  thought 
cf.  Lucr.  2,  1-2  :  snave,  mari 
fnagno  tnrbantihus  aequora  ventis, 
e  terra  magnum  alterius  spectare 
labor  em.  —  cubantem  :  sc.  ali- 
quetn. 

27 


I.  47] 


TIBVLLI 


aut,  gelidas  hibernus  aquas  cum  fuderit  auster, 
\      securum  somnos  imbre  iuvahte  sequi ! 
hoc  mihi  contingat :   sit  dives  iure,  furorem 
50  qui  maris  et  tristes  ferre  potest  pluvias. 

o  quantum  est  auri  pereat  potiusque  smaragdi, 

quam  fleat  ob  nostras  ulla  puella  vias. 
te  bellare  decet  terra,  Messalla,  marique, 
ut  domus  hostiles  praeferat  exuvias  : 
55      me  retinent  vinctum  formosae  vincla  puellae, 


47.  For    the     rime    cf.     Intr. 

§42,1  (5)('^)- 

48.  imbre  iuvante  :  cf.  Hor. 
Epod.  2,  28. 

51.  potius  :  belongs  to  both 
clauses.  On  the  arrangement  of 
words  (synchysis)  cf.  i.  3.  56  ; 
Hansen,  p.  36. — smaragdi :  'gems' ; 
for  the  collective  use  cf.  Prop,  i, 
14,  12  ;  Ovid,  Am.  3.  13,  25  :  tv>-- 
g/nei  crhies  auro  goiiiitaque  pre- 

7HU)ltur. 

52.  Cf.  Prop.  3,  20,4:  iaiitine, 
itt  lacriiiies,  Africa  iota  fuit  ? 

53.  terra  .  .  .  marique:  cf  i, 
3,  56.  Messalla  is  still  away  at  war. 
—  Messalla  :  Marcus  Valerius  Mes- 
salla Corvinus,  b.  64  B.C.,  d.  c. 
8  A.D.,  the  patron  "of  Tibullus. 
'distinguished  in  public  life  and 
literary  circles  at  Rome.  In  the 
civil  wars  he  was  successively 
allied  with  the  fortunes  of  Brutus, 
Antony,  and  Octavian,  and  ren- 
dered the  latter  excellent  service 
in  the  final  struggle  at  Actium  for 
the  mastery  of  the  Roman  world. 
After  this  he  was  intrusted  with 
several  important  military  commis- 
sions   by  Augustus,  among  them 


the  Aquitanian  expedition,  proba- 
bly in  31  B.C.,  and  the  ordering  of 
affairs  in  various  eastern  provinces 
immediately  thereafter  (see  Intr. 
to  1,3).  He  was  the  first  to  hold 
the  office  of  Praefectus  Urbi,  which 
he  soon  resigned  as  inconsistent 
with  his  political  opinions.  As  an 
orator  he  achieved  much  fame  and 
earned  the  praise  of  Cicero.  He 
wrote  also  poetry  and  historical 
works.  The  literary  coterie  of 
which  he  was  the  center  included 
particularly  Tibullus,  Lygdamus, 
Sulpicia,  and  other  minor  poets ; 
and  he  was  also  the  friend  of 
Horace,  Asinius  Pollio,  and  Ovid; 
cf.  I,  3,  I  ;  5,  31  ;  I'l^  et passwi; 
2.  I,  31-34;   5-  119- 

54.  praeferat :  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  hang  at  the  entrance  of 
houses  and  temples  the  trophies 
won  from  vanquished  enemies. 
Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  7,  183  sqq.  :  mul- 
taqite  praeterea  sacris  in  postibus 
arma.  caption  pendent  currus  cur- 
vaeque  secures  et  cristae  capitum 
et  portarum  ingentia  clanstra  spe- 
culaque  clipeiqne  ereptaqne  rostra 
carinis  ;  Prop.  3,  9,  26. 

28 


4-.i 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


LI.  70 


et  sedeo  duras  ianitor  ante  fores, 
non  ego  laudari  euro,  mea  Delia :  tecum 

dum  modo  sim,  quaeso  segnis  inersque  vocer. 
te  spectem,  suprema  mihi  cum  venerit  hora, 
60  te  teneam  moriens  deficiente  manu. 

flebis  et  arsuro  positum  me,  Delia,  lecto, 

tristibus  et  lacrimis  oscula  mixta  dabis. 
flebis :  non  tua  sunt  duro  praecordia  ferro 

vincta,  neque  in  tenero  stat  tibi  corde  silex. 
65      illo  non  iuvenis  poterit  de  funere  quisquam 

lumina,  non  virgo,  sicca  referre  domum. 
tu  manes  ne  laede  meos,  sed  parce  solutis 

crinibus  et  teneris,  Delia,  parce  genis, 
interea,  dum  fata  sinunt,  iungamus  amores: 
70  iam  veniet  tenebris  Mors  adoperta  caput, 


56.  duras:  as  if  the  doors  were 
to  blame  for  shutting  him  out.  — 
ianitor :  doorkeepers  were  often 
kept  chained  to  their  positions  at 
the  entrance  (cf.  vinctunt). 

57.  laudari :  of  military  hon- 
ors;  cf.  Prop.  I,  6,  29.  "Here  is 
the  same  'linked  sweetness  long 
drawn  out,'  which  gives  such  a 
charm  to  Gray's  Elegy "  (Crutt- 
well,  Hist.  Rom.  Lit.,  p.  301). 
—  euro  :  '  take  pains.' 

60.  Ovid  in  his  beautiful  elegy 
on  the  death  of  Tibullus  (^Am.  3, 
9,  58)  expresses  historically  the 
same  idea  that  Tibullus  here  utters 
as  prophetic  longing.  Cf.  Shake- 
speare, So7i.  92  :  "  O  what  a  happy 
title  do  I  find,  Happy  to  have  thy 
love,  happy  to  die!" 

61.  flebis  et  .  .  .  et  .  .  .  dabis: 
the  fut.  of  confident  expectation.  — 

ROM.  EL.  POETS  —  9  ] 


lecto  :  '  my  bier,"  which  would  be 
placed  upon  the  funeral  pyre  and 
consumed  with  it.  Cf.  Prop.  4, 
1 1,  10. 

63-64.  Cf.  I.  10.  59;  Ovid,  ^w. 
3,  6,  59 :  ille  habet  et  silices  et 
vivum  in  pectore  ferrnm. 

67.  tu:  cf.  1,4,  39;  Prop.  I,  7, 
25.  —  manes  ne  laede:  the  spirit 
of  the  departed  is  represented  as 
being  pained  by  too  great  grief 
on  the  part  of  loved  ones  left  be- 
hind ;  cf.  Prop.  4.  II,  I. 

69.  dum  .  .  .  sinunt :  cf.  Prop. 
I,  19,  25  ;  2,  15.  23:  dum  nos  fata 
sinunt,  oculos  satiemus  amore.  — 
iungamus  amores  :  cf.  Cat.  64,  372  : 
quare  agite  optatos  animi  con- 
iungite  atnores. 

70.  iam:  for  this  use  of  the 
word  cf.  Lex.  s.v.  C.  3  ;  cf.  2,  5, 
56.  —  Mors  :    the  abstract  idea  is 

29 


1. 71] 


TIBVLLl 


75 


iam  subrepet  iners  aetas,  neque  amare  decebit, 

dicere  nee  eano  blanditias  eapite. 
nunc  levis  est  tractanda  Venus,  dum  frangere  postes 

non  pudet  et  rixas  inseruisse  iuvat. 
hie  ego  dux  milesque  bonus  :  vos,  signa  tubaeque, 

ite  procul,  cupidis  vulnera  ferte  viris. 
ferte  et  opes :  ego  conposito  securus  acervo 

despiciam  dites  despiciamque  famem. 


Ibitis  Aegaeas  sine  me,  Messalla,  per  undas, 
o  utinam  memores  ipse  cohorsque  mei : 

72.    eapite  OP  capiti  w. 


here  personified  according  to  Ro- 
man habit ;  but  the  picture  of  the 
goddess  thus  formed  inthe  imagina- 
tion of  the  poet  does  not  corre- 
spond at  all  to  the  Greek  god 
Thanatos,  commonly  represented 
as  a  youth  sinking  down  in  sleep, 
with  a  reversed  torch.  The  idea 
of  such  a  being  was  too  indistinct 
at  Rome  to  be  represented  in  any 
regular  Roman  type.  Horace 
(SaL  2,  I,  58)  may  be  intending  to 
liken  Mors  to  an  evil  bird  of  prey  : 
Mors  atris  circuvivolat  all's.  Per- 
haps the  picture  here  painted  by 
Tibullus  takes  its  main  character- 
istic of  a  veiled  countenance  from 
the  Roman  custom  of  concealing 
the  face  when  applying  the  torch 
to  a  funeral  pyre,  or  from  the  dim 
uncertainty  shrouding  the  real 
nature  of  death  and  the  future  life. 
Cf.  I,  10,  34. 

71.   aetas  =  setiectus. 


72.  cano  .  .  .  eapite:  abl. 
abs. ;  cf.  for  the  construction  2,  6, 
18;  and  for  a  similar  idea,  1,  2, 
90-92.  —  blanditias  :     '  soft    noth- 


quarrels     of     rival 


inseruisse:    'engage  in.' 


74.  nxas 

lovers. 

75.  hie:  -in  this  field';  cf.  the 
opening  verses  of  the  elegy  with 
these  closing  ones.  On  the  ellip- 
sis of  sum  cf.  Deutsch,  pp.  180- 
181. 

76.  eupidis  :  i.e.  for  the  opes  of 
V.  77.  viz.  the  same  as  described 
in  vv.  1-2. 

78.    Cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  10,  5-8. 

After  the  Aquitanian  expedition 
(probably  of  31  B.C.)  Messalla 
was  sent  by  Augustus  to  the  East 
to  settle  affairs  in  Cilicia,  Syria, 
and  other  districts.  Tibuliu?,  who 
had  been  in  his  retinue  in  Aqui- 


130 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


[3.  4 


me  tenet  ignotis  aegrum  Phaeacia  terris  : 
abstineas  avidas,  Mors  precor  atra,  mantis. 

3.    4.    Mors  precor  atra  Y«   Mors  modo  nigra  0   Mors  violenta    Codex 
Wittianus. 


tania,  decided  to  accompany  him 
thither  also.  But  before  he  had 
proceeded  far  on  his  journey,  the 
poet  fell  sick  and  Messalla  was 
obliged  to  leave  him  behind  on 
the  island  of  Corcyra.  This  elegy 
must  have  been  written  there  some 
time  during  the  year  30  B.C.,  per- 
haps in  the  late  summer  or  the 
fall,  and  is  the  earliest  of  the  col- 
lection to  which  a  definite  date 
can  be  assigned. 

Sick  and  lonesome,  Tibullus 
in  characteristic  fashion  at  one 
moment  fears  imminent  death, 
and  the  next  hopes  for  a  joyful 
return  to  his  home  and  his  Delia. 
Three  times  do  gloomy  forebod- 
ings give  way  to  hope,  in  each  case 
the  ground  of  his  pleasant  antici- 
pations being  a  different  one, 
approached  in  a  very  skillful  man- 
ner. 

1-34.  'Alas!  I  am  left  alone, 
with  none  to  perform  the  last 
offices  at  my  grave ;  how  much 
better  it  would  have  been,  had  I 
heeded  the  omens  and  forebod- 
ings which  we  both  had  before 
my  departure  !  How  faithful  was 
Delia  to  thy  service,  O  Isis!  Surely 
thou  wilt  save  me  for  her  sake. 
35-52  :  How  much  pleasanter  it 
would  have  been  to  live  in  the 
golden  age,  when  I  should  not 
have  tempted  Providence  by  sail- 
ing the  sea,  —  before,  under  Jove's 


rule,  war,  the  messenger  of  death, 
had  been  invented  !  But  thou, 
Juppiter,  shouldst  save  me,  a  re- 
ligious man.  53-94:  But  if  I  must 
die,  let  me  be  duly  honored,  and 
let  my  spirit  fly  to  Elysium.  If 
any  have  taken  advantage  of  my 
absence  from  my  love,  let  his 
abode  be  amidst  the  horrors  of 
Tartarus.  But  do  thou,  Delia, 
remain  true  to  me:  and  oh  !  after 
all,  may  I  live  to  return  unexpect- 
edly and  find  you  waiting  for  me 
in  your  chaste  home.' 

I.  Ibitis :  although  Messalla, 
his  patron,  stands  alone  for  em- 
phasis at  the  beginning  of  the 
elegy,  the  verb  is  in  the  plural  re- 
ferring to  the  idea  of  ipse  cohorsque 
in  the  next  verse;  cf.  Hor.  Epod. 
I,  I. 

2.  me  mores :  sc.  sitis,  or  vi- 
vatis ;  cf.  3,  5,  31-  Such  an  omis- 
sion is  unusual,  but  begins  to  be 
more  common  in  Tacitus.  —  cohors: 
'retinue,'  composed  of  not  only 
the  necessary  officials,  but  also 
usually,  in  such  a  case,  of  many 
young  men  of  rank,  just  getting 
thus  their  first  taste  of  military 
life;   cf.  Intr.  §§  21  and  23. 

3.  Phaeacia  :  this  mythical  isle 
of  Homer's  Odyssey  was  identified 
by  later  writers  with  Corcyra.  It 
was  a  terra  incognita  to  the  poet's 
friends  ;  cf.  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  47. 

4.  Mors  .  .  .  atra:  cf.  i,  10,33. 


131 


3.  5] 


TIBVLLI 


lO 


abstineas,  Mors  atra,  precor :  non  hie  mihi  mater 

quae  legat  in  maestos  ossa  perusta  sinus, 
non  soror,  Assyrios  cineri  quae  dedat  odores 

et  fleat  effusis  ante  sepulcra  comis, 
Delia  non  usquam ;  quae  me  cum  mitteret  urbe, 

dicitur  ante  omnes  consuluisse  deos. 
ilia  sacras  pueri  sortes  ter  sustulit,  illi 

rettulit  e  trinis  omina  certa  puer. 
cuncta  dabant  reditus :  tamen  est  deterrita  numquam, 


12.   trinis  Mure/us  triviis  0.    omina  over  an  erasure  A  omnia  Y,  appar- 
entlv  V. 


5.  For  the  repetition  cf.  i,  i, 
43,  n.  Similar  chiastic  repetition 
in  Ovid,  Ex  P.  1,2,  58.  —  non  hie  : 
cf.  Ovid,  Trist.  i,  2,  53:  est  ali- 
qm'd  .  .  .  mandare  suis  aliq7ia  et 
sperare  sep7ilcriti)i. 

6.  For  the  details  of  the  os- 
silegiuin,  which  it  was  the  duty  of 
the  nearest  relative  to  perform,  cf 
3,  2,  9-26  and  nn. 

7.  Assyrios  =  Syrios,  by  a  com- 
mon confusion  due  partly  to  the 
similarity  in  sound,  and  partly 
to  the  haziness  of  geographical 
knowledge  at  Rome.  All  the 
products  of  the  East  were  fre- 
quently called  Syrtos,  because 
shipped  to  Rome  from  Antioch. 
or  other  Syrian  ports.  So  "  Port " 
wine  from  Oporto ;  see  Taylor, 
Wordsand  Places,  p.  282  ;  cf.  Cat. 
68.  144;  Prop.  2.  13.  30.  —  dedat: 
'devote.' 

8.  sepulcra:  poetic  plural. 

9.  cum  mitteret:  with  conative 
force :  '  when  she  was  trying  to 
make  up  her  mind  to  let  me  go.' 

I 


11.  pueri  sortes:  little  tablets 
of  wood  or  bronze  which  would  be 
managed  by  a  puer  sortilegits ; 
they  were  inscribed  with  some 
sentiment  and  drawn  one  at  a  time, 
as  a  method  of  divination.  All 
sorts  of  fortune  tellers,  astrologers, 
and  soothsayers  flourished  at 
Rome,  plying  their  trade  especially 
in  certain  quarters  of  the  city  ;  cf. 
Hor.  Sat.  i,  6,  113:  fallaceiu 
circujH  7)espertinniiiqiie  pererro 
saepe  forum;  adsisto  divinis ;  Cic. 
De  Div.  2,  41 .  —  ter  :  to  make  the 
matter  sure. 

12.  rettulit:  'interpreted. '  — 
trinis  :  referring  to  ter  in  v.  11; 
the  word  is  not  a  distributive  here. 

13.  cuncta :  referring  not  only 
to  (vnitia  in  the  preceding  verse,  but 
also  to  the  omina  implied  in  v.  10. 
—  dabant :  '  foretold.'  —  reditus  : 
the  plural  refers  to  the  repeated 
instances  where  a  safe  return  was 
prophesied;  cf.  i,  i,  4,  n;  Ovid, 
Fast.  I,  279:  ut  populo  reditus 
pateant  ad  bella  profecto. 

32 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


[3.  23 


quin  fleret  nostras  respiceretque  vias. 
1$      ipse  ego  solator,  cum  iam  mandata  dedissem, 
quaerebam  tardas  anxius  usque  moras  ; 
aut  ego  sum  causatus  aves  aut  omina  dira, 

Saturnive  sacram  me  tenuisse  diem. 
o  quotiens  ingressus  iter  mihi  tristia  dixi 
20  offensum  in  porta  signa  dedisse  pedem ! 

audeat  invito  nequis  discedere  A  more, 

aut  sciat  egressum  se  prohibente  deo. 
quid  tua  nunc  Isis  mihi,  Delia,  quid  mihi  prosunt 

14.  respiceretque  0  respueretque  co  despueretque  Hatipt.  17.  aves  aut 
(i>  aves  dant  0.  18.  Saturnive  accepted  by  Broiikhiisius  from  a  certain  scholar 
Saturni  0.        22.    sciat  0  sciet  Doering. 


15.  solator:  the  appositive  is 
here  equivalent  to  a  concessive 
clause:  'though  I  tried  to  console 
her';  cf.  Madv.  220. — mandata: 
'parting  injunctions';  cf.  Ovid, 
Trist.  I,  3'  59- 

16.  tardas  :  in  the  active  sense  ; 
cf.  Hor.  Sat.  i,  9,  32:  tarda 
podagra . 

17.  Cf.  Ovid,  Her.  5,  49-52; 
Met.  9,  767  ;  Ter.  Fhorm.  705  sqq. 

18.  Saturnive  .  .  .  diem:  sub- 
ject oi  tenuisse.  The  Jewish  Sab- 
bath ( the  seventh  day  of  the  week) 
was  known  to  the  Romans  as 
Saturn's  day  (Saturday).  Of  this 
use  of  the  term  in  literature  this 
is  one  of  the  earliest  instances, 
perhaps  the  earliest.  Many  pas- 
sages show  that  Jewish  customs 
had  their  share  of  respectful  ob- 
servance at  Rome  along  with  the 
host  of  foreign  superstitions  by 
this  time  introduced  into  Roman 
life ;  cf.  Edwin  Post  in  Meth.  Rev., 


Vol.  79  (1897),  p.  81  ;  Ovid,  A. 
A.  1,415:  q Hague  die  redeunt  re- 
bus minus  apt  a  gerendis  cult  a  Pal- 
aestino  septinia  fesla  Syro  ;  Rem. 
Am.  219;  Hor.  Sat.  i,  9,  69. — 
sacram:  TibuUus's  rule  in  regard 
to  this  word's  quantity  seems  to  be 
that  when  one  syllable  is  long  the 
other  is  short ;  cf.  e.g.  sacra  in  v. 
25.  But  cf.  BPIV.,  Vol.  32 
(1912),  Sp.  394. 

22.  sciat:  i.e.  'let  him  learn' 
from  sad  experience  like  my  own. 
—  Ato  =  A/nore :  i.e.  even  if  the 
gods  seem  propitious,  here  is  a 
really  opposing  divinity. 

23.  tua  .  .  .  Isis:  the  worship 
of  the  Egyptian  goddess  Isis  had 
become  common  at  Rome,  and 
was  especially  popuhir  among 
women.  As  the  patroness  ot  navi- 
gation there  would  have  been 
particular  appropriateness  in  her 
being  besought  by  Delia  to  give 
Tibullus  a  safe  return. 


^Zl 


3.  24] 


TIBVLLI 


ilia  tua  totiens  aera  repulsa  manu, 
25      quidve,  pie  dum  sacra  colis,  pureque  lavari 
te  (memini)  et  puro  secubuisse  toro  ? 
nunc,  dea,  nunc  succurre  mihi  (nam  posse  mederi 

picta  docet  templis  multa  tabella  tuis), 
ut  mea  votivas  persolvens  Delia  voces 
30  ante  sacras  lino  tecta  fores  sedeat 

bisque  die  resoluta  comas  tibi  dicere  laudes 
insignis  turba  debeat  in  Pharia, 


24.  aera :  the  sistrtmi^  a  rattle 
composed  commonly  of  several 
pieces  of  metal  (hence  the  plural), 
the  usual  accompaniment  of  Isis- 
worship;  cf.  Ovid,  A.  A.  3,  635. 

25.  dum  sacra  colis  :  especially 
at  the  two  more  important  annual 
festivals  of  the  goddess.  —  pureque 
lavari  .  .  .  et  .  .  .  secubuisse:  sc. 
prostint ;  the  two  principal  require- 
ments of  the  devotees  of  Isis  at 
these  festivals ;  cf.  Prop.  2,  33, 
1-4  ;  also  Tib.  2,  i,  1 1  ;  Ovid,  Am. 

3,  9»  33- 

27.  posse   mederi :  sc.  fe.     Cf. 

Stolz-Schmalz,  162,  2;  Draeger, 
454;  Ter.  Phorm.  610:  venire 
salvo  in  vol  up  est . 

28.  picta  .  .  .  tabella :  the  cus- 
tom of  placing  a  votive  picture  in 
the  temple  of  a  deity  after  escape 
from  sickness,  shipwreck,  or  other 
danger,  was  a  common  one,  es- 
pecially in  temples  of  Isis ;  cf. 
Juv.  12,  27  :  votiva  testantur  fana 
tabella  pliirinia ;  pidores  qiiis 
nescit  ab  /side  pasci ;  Hor.  Car. 
I,  5,  13;  Sat.  2,  I,  33.  The  cus- 
tom still  persists  in  some  churches 
in  Italy. 


29.  votivas  .  .  .  voces  =  vota., 
i.e.  those  of  Tibullus  himself,  viz. 
vv.  30-32. 

30.  lino  tecta:  'clotlied  in 
linen.'  The  priests  and  devotees 
of  Isis  wore  linen  so  much  as  to 
have  the  standing  epithet  liniger, 
like  the  goddess  herself;  cf.  Ovid, 
Met.  I,  747  :  liniger  a  .  .  .  turba  ; 
Ex  P.  I,  I,  51  :  linigerae  .  .  . 
Isidis.  Linen  raiment  was  worn 
also  by  those  consulting  the  sub- 
terranean oracle  of  Trophonius 
(Paus.  9,  39,  8),  in  the  cult  of 
earth  gods  (Dieterich,  Abraxas, 
158  A),  in  magic  rites  (ib.  179,9, 
etc.),  and  in  incubation  (Deubner, 
De  Incitbat.  p.  25).  —  sedeat:  cf. 
Prop.  2,  28.  45. 

31.  bisque  die:  in  the  early 
morning,  before  sunrise,  and  to- 
wards evening.  —  resoluta  comas  : 
cf.  2,  5,  66.  where  the  Sibyl  is  like- 
wise engaged  in  serving  a  deity. 

32.  insignis:  i.e.  for  her  un- 
usual beauty.  —  Pharia  =  Aegyptia ; 
Pharos  was  the  island  on  which 
stood  the  famous  lighthouse  at  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor  of  Alex- 
andria. 


134 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[3.  45 


at  mihi  contingat  patrios  celebrare  penates 
reddereque  antique  menstrua  tura  lari. 
35      quam  bene  Saturno  vivebant  rege,  prius  quam 
tellus  in  longas  est  patefacta  vias  ! 
nondum  caeruleas  pinus  contempserat  undas, 

effusum  ventis  praebueratque  sinum, 
nee  vagus  ignotis  repetens  conpendia  terris 
40  presserat  externa  navita  merce  ratem. 

illo  non  validus  subiit  iuga  tempore  taurus, 

non  domito  frenos  ore  momordit  equus, 
non  domus  ulla  fores  habuit,  non  fixus  in  agris, 
qui  regeret  certis  finibus  arva,  lapis. 
45      ipsae  mella  dabant  quercus,  ultroque  ferebant 


33.  contingat :  like  sedeat  (v. 
30),  and  debeat  (v.  32),  introduced 
by  td  (v.  29) .  — celebrare  penates  : 
the  usual  custom  on  returning 
from  a  journey ;    cf.  Ter.  Phorin. 

311- 

34.  antique :  in  comparison 
with  such  new-fangled  cults  as 
that  of  Isis.  — menstrua:  the  lar 
was  worshiped  especially  on  the 
Calends,  as  well  as  the  Ides,  the 
Nones,  and  festival  occasions.  — • 
lari :  up  to  the  time  of  Augustus 
the  lar  familiaris  was  spoken  of 
properly  only  in  the  singular,  in- 
dicating the  protector  of  the  fa- 
milia  as  a  whole  ;  cf.  Wissowa,  Rel. 
u.  Knit.  d.  R'dmer,  p.  149. 

35.  The  following  description 
of  "  the  good  old  days "  of  the 
"golden  age"  under  Saturn's  rule 
is  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
many  similar  passages  in  the  Ro- 
man poets,  such  as  Ovid,  Met.  i. 


89-112;  Am.  3,  8,  35'-44;  Fast. 
2,  289-298  ;  Hor.  Epod.  16, 41-66  ; 
Verg.  Ec.  4,  9  sqq  ;  Georg.  i,  125 
sqq.  Like  Vergil,  Tibullus  dis- 
tinguishes but  two  ages ;  Horace 
and  Aratus  have  three ;  Ovid, 
four;  Hesiod,  five.  The  golden 
age  was  already  recognized  as  a 
trite  theme  in  the  Aetna,vv.  9-15. 

36.  longas  .  .  .  vias:  cf.  i,  i, 
26.     Ace.  of  purpose. 

37.  contempserat  :  cf.  Hor. 
Car.  I,  3,  21-24;  Tibullus  is 
wishing  that  he  had  never  set  sail 
on  this  expedition ;  the  idea  of 
'spurning  the  billows'  has  be- 
come a  commonplace  even  among 
English  poets. 

38.  On  the  position  of  -que  cf. 
2,  5,  72,  n. 

45.  ipsae  .  .  .  quercus  : '  the  very 
oaks';  the  emphasis  is  on  quer- 
cus. a  kind  of  tree  which  does  not 
ordinarily  give  honey,  but  was  be- 


135 


3.  46] 


TIBVLLI 


obvia  securis  ubera  lactis  oves. 
non  acies,  non  ira  fuit,  non  bella,  nee  ensem 

inmiti  saevus  duxerat  arte  faber. 
nunc  love  sub  domino  caedes  et  vulnera  semper, 
50  nunc  mare,  nunc  leti  mille  repente  viae. 

parce,  pater,     timidum  non  me  periuria  terrent, 

non  dicta  in  sanctos  inpia  verba  deos. 
quod  si  fatales  iam  nunc  explevimus  annos, 

fac  lapis  inscriptis  stet  super  ossa  notis : 
55      '  hie  iacet  inmiti  consumptus  morte  Tibullus, 

Messallam  terra  dum  sequiturque  mari.' 
sed  me,  quod  facilis  tenero  sum  semper  Amori, 

ipsa  Venus  campos  ducet  in  Elysios. 
hie  choreae  cantusque  vigent,  passimque  vagantes 

50.    repente  G  reperte  AV  multa  reperta  via  w. 


lieved  to  have  done  so  in  this  fab- 
ulous age  ;  cf.  Verg.  Ec.  4,  29-30  : 
incidtisqiie  rubens  pendebit  senti- 
bus  uva,  et  durae  querciis  sjida- 
biint  roscida  7>iella  ;  Ovid,  Mel.  I, 
1 1  i-i  12  :  flumina  iam  lactis,  iaui 
fluniina  iieclaris  ibant,  flavaque 
de  iiiridi  slillabanl  ilice  mella ; 
also  the  Lsraelitish  "  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey." 

46.  securis  :  sc.  dominis.  They 
were  free  even  from  the  ordinary 
care  of  providing  themselves  daily 
food. 

48.  duxerat :  i.e.  on  the  anvil ; 
cf.    Eng.    "  ductile  "  ;    Verg.  Aen. 

7'  ^33- 

50.    repente :      with     adjectival 

force  ;  cf.  A.  321,  d. ;  mare  is  one 

of  these  new  ways  of  sudden  death  ; 

cf.  Prop.  3,  7.  31,  n. 


51.  pater:  Juppiter.  —  timi- 
dum: a  predicate  adjective  here: 
cf.  the  English  "  strike  him  dead." 

52.  Clearly  Tibullus  does  not 
consider  the  sentiment  of  v.  49 
any  sacrilege. 

53.  fatales :  which  fate  has  al- 
lotted. 

54.  notis  :  sc.  litterarum. 

55.  Cf.  3,  2,29;  Prop.  2,  13,35. 

56.  Note  favorite  position  o' 
the  -que ;  cf.  i,  i,  51,  n. 

57.  me :     in    contrast    to  lapis 

(V-  54)- 

58.  Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  60. — 
ipsa  Venus:  this  function  was 
usually  ascribed  to  Mercury. 

59.  For  the  description  cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  6,  637  sqq.  —  choreae  : 
instead  of  the  usual  choreae ;  cf. 
Prop.  2,  19,  15. 


1.36 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


[3.  69 


60  dulce  sonant  tenui  gutture  carmen  aves, 

fert  casiam  non  culta  seges,  totosque  per  agros 

floret  odoratis  terra  benigna  rosis  : 
at  iuvenum  series  teneris  inmixta  puellis 

ludit,  et  adsidue  proelia  miscet  Amor. 
65      illic  est,  cuicumque  rapax  mors  venit  amanti, 

et  gerit  insigni  myrtea  serta  coma, 
at  scelerata  iacet  sedes  in  nocte  profunda 

abdita,  quam  circum  flumina  nigra  sonant : 
Tisiphoneque  inpexa  feros  pro  crinibus  angues 


61.  casiam:  not  the  common 
casta  of  Italy  referred  to  in  Verg. 
Ec.  2,  49 ;  but  the  imported  pro- 
duct, corresponding  to  our  com- 
mon cinnamon  bark.  —  non  culta: 
A.  496,  note  3  ;  H.  636,  3. — seges  : 
for  a  similar  use  of  the  word  cf. 
4,  2,  18. 

63.  at :  used  often  by  Tibullus 
without  any  adversative  force  ;  cf 
V.  87,  n.  ;  also  i.  7,  7  ;  10,  41  ;  in 
2,  5,  7  sed  is  used  in  the  same 
sense. 

64.  proelia:  cf.  1,10,53;  Hor. 
Car.  I,  6,  17:  proelia  virginnm. 
With  these  military  terms  in  con- 
nection with  lovers  cf.  the  Eng- 
lish "  conquest,"  "  win,"  "  lay 
siege,"  etc.  The  idea  here  is  not 
that  of  a  falling  out. 

65.  cuicumque  :  the  antecedent 
is  amanti  (  =  amatori). 

66.  insigni  belongs  to  the  pred- 
icate. —  myrtea  :  cf.  Verg.  Ec.  7, 
61  :  gratissima  .  .  .  formosae 
myrtiis    Vetieri. 

67.  at :  here  used  with  its  reg- 
ular adversative  force.  —  scelerata 


=  sceleratorutn  ;  cf.  Verg.  A  en.  6, 
543  :  inpia  Tartara  ;  Ovid,  Met. 
4,  456  sqq. 

68.  circum :  this  preposition  is 
always  postpositive  in  Tibullus ; 
cf.  I,  1,23.  —  flumina  nigra:  the 
rivers  that  may  properly  be  said 
to  surround  Tartarus  are  Phlege- 
thon  and  Pyriphlegethon.  the 
rivers  of  fire;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  6, 
550-551:  quae  rapidiis  flam  mis 
ambit  torreiitibiis  amnis,  Tarta- 
reiis  Phlegethon,  torqiietque  sonan- 
tia  saxa.  The  poets'  conceptions 
of  the  details  of  the  lower  world 
were  naturally  vague  and  differed 
widely.     Cf.  Cat.  65,  6,  n. 

69.  Tisiphone,  with  her  wrig- 
gling locks  of  serpents,  is  a  familiar 
figure  in  descriptions  of  the  horrors 
of  Tartarus  ;  cf.  Prop.  3,  5,  40  ; 
Verg.  Aen.  6,  570-572  ;  Ovid,  Met. 
4-474-475;  Hor.  Car.  2.  13,  35- 
36.  The  expression  pro  crinibus 
is  a  modifier  of  angues,  equivalent 
to  a  relative  clause.  —  angues  :  for 
the  construction  cL  capillos,  v.  91. 
Serpents  are  particularly  connected 


137 


3.  7o] 


TIBVLLI 


70  saevit,  et  hue  illuc  inpia  turba  fugit : 

turn  niger  in  porta  serpentum  Cerberus  ore 

stridet,  et  aeratas  excubat  ante  fores, 
illic  lunonem  temptare  Ixionis  ausi 
versantur  celeri  noxia  membra  rota, 
75      porrectusque  novem  Tityos  per  iugera  terrae 
adsiduas  atro  viscere  pascit  aves. 
Tantalus  est  illic,  et  circum  stagna,  sed  acrem 
iam  iam  poturi  deserit  unda  sitim  : 


with  earth  gods  and  beings  of  the 
lower  world,  eg.  Furies,  Giants, 
and  Cerberus.  Souls  of  the  dead 
were  often  represented  as  ser- 
pents. 

70.  Cf.  Cidex,  219. 

71.  turn:  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  4,250, 
for  similar  use  of  the  conj.  to  add 
another  detail.  —  in  porta :  of 
Tartarus,  as  in  Verg.  Georg.  4, 
483  ;  but  Cerberus  is  usually  the 
keeper  of  the  entrance  to  the  lower 
world  as  a  whole ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen. 
6,417.  —  serpentum  .  .  .  ore  stri- 
det :  'visage  of  hissing  serpents  ' ; 
cf.  Ovid,  Met.  11,  597:  noti  vigil 
ales  ibi  cristati  cantibus  oris  evocat 
Auroravi  ;  Plin.  N.H.  10,  56.  77  : 
ore  r  libit  undo  (of  a  hen);  tiie  ex- 
pression gives  us  no  definite  infor- 
mation as  to  whether  Tibullus 
conceived  Cerberus  as  with  one 
head  or  more,  or  with  the  snakes 
on  his  head  (Hor.  Car.  3,  11,  18), 
around  his  neck  {Culex.  221),  or 
composing  his  head,  or  heads. 
For  the  idea  that  Cerbeinis  really 
was  a  snake  cf.  Paus.  3,  25.  5. 
Honey  cakes  were  thrown  to  the 
snakes  of  Trophonius  in  Boeotia, 


as  to  Cerberus.      Hence  the  vary- 
ing conceptions,  perhaps. 

73.  illic  belongs  to  the  next 
distich  as  well  as  to  this  one  ;  sim- 
ilarly the  force  of  illic  in  v.  •]']  ex- 
tends as  far  as  v.  80.  So  the 
examples  of  condemned  wretches 
in  Tartarus  are  arranged  in  pairs. 
The  first  two,  Ixion  and  Tityos, 
were  guilty  of  unbridled  lust,  and 
Tibullus  wishes  vv.  71-82  to  be 
taken  as  a  parallel  to  these.  Tan- 
talus and  the  Danaides  were  pun- 
ished for  presumptuous  ingratitude 
and  lack  of  appreciation  of  the 
good  gifts  of  the  gods,  which  in 
the  latter  case  were  represented 
by  good  husbands ;  these  exam- 
ples are  quoted  rather  as  a  warn- 
ing to  Delia  herself,  and  are  to  be 
compared  with  vv.  83-84. 

77.  circum :  adverb  ;  sc.  sunt ; 
cf.  Caes.  B.  C  2,  10  :  ubiexea  turri 
quae  circiiiii  essent  opera  tueri  se 
posse  sunt  confisi. 

78.  iam    iam :     the    repetition 
makes  more  vivid  the  picture  of 
the  sufferer's  palpitating  hope  ever 
just  on  the  verge    of  realization 
Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  6,  602. 


138 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[3.  92 


et  Danai  proles,  Veneris  quod  numina  laesit, 
80  in  cava  Lethaeas  dolia  portat  aquas, 

illic  sit  quicumque  meos  violavit  amores, 

optavit  lentas  et  mihi  militias, 
at  tu  casta  precor  maneas,  sanctique  pudoris 
adsideat  custos  sedula  semper  anus. 
85      haec  tibi  fabellas  referat  positaque  lucerna 
deducat  plena  stamina  longa  colu. 
at  circa  gravibus  pensis  adfixa  puella 

pauUatim  somno  fessa  remittat  opus, 
tunc  veniam  subito,  nee  quisquam  nuntiet  ante, 
90  sed  videar  caelo  missus  adesse  tibi. 

tunc  mihi,  qualis  eris,  longos  turbata  capillos, 
obvia  nudato,  Delia,  curre  pede. 


{ 


86.    colu  M  colo  OP. 
nunc  A. 


87.   at  P  ac  0.       89.    tunc  0  turn  w.       91.   tunc  GV 


80.  cava  =  cavata  =  'perfo- 
rated'; cf.  Ovid,  A.  A.  I,  432: 
elapsHsqiie  cava  Jingiinr  aiire 
lapis;  Met.  12,  130:  parmani 
gladio  galea/nqite  cavari  certiit. 

81.  quicumque:  a  comprehen- 
sive term  for  potential  or  actual 
rivals. 

83.  tu :  the  same  as  jiieos  amores 
in  V.  81,  i.e.  Delia. 

84.  anus  :  either  Delia's  mother 
(cf.  I,  6,  57-66)  or  nurse  (cf. 
Prop.  4.  3,  41).  For  the  picture 
cf.  Ter.  Haitt.  275  sqq. 

85.  fabellas  referat:  the  older 
woman  is  to 'spin  yarns'  to  the 
maidens  while  they  all  spin  yarn, 
—  their  evening's  task.  Cf.  the 
story  of  Lucretia's  occupation  in 
Livy,  I,  57,  9.  —  lucerna:  the  fact 
that  lights  were  necessary  so  early 


indicates  perhaps  that  this  elegy 
was  written  in  the  fall  of  the 
year. 

87.  at  =  ac.  Tibullus  is  par- 
ticular not  to  use  ac  before  a  pala- 
tal;  cf.  Haupt.  Opusc.  I,  109;  cf. 
V.  63,  n. — puella:  the  collective 
use  for  pnellae  ;  cf  Lachmann  on 
Prop.  3,  3,  29. 

90.  caelo :  Tibullus  uses  the 
preposition  in  a  similar  phrase  in 

4,  I3»  13- 

92.  nudato:  Delia,  surprised  at 
her  quiet  evening's  work,  not  only 
will  leave  her  hair  unconfined.  but 
also  will  not  even  stop  to  put  on 
her  sandals  as  she  runs  to  meet  her 
lover.  It  is  clear  from  this  idyllic 
picture  of  Delia's  modest  home 
life  that  she  was  not  a  married 
woman. 


139 


3.  93] 


TIBVLLI 


hoc  precor,  hunc  ilium  nobis  Aurora  nitentem 
Luciferum  roseis  Candida  portet  equis. 


f 


r 


Hunc  cecinere  diem  Parcae  fatalia  nentes 
stamina  non  ulli  dissoluenda  deo  ; 


93.  hunc:  'such  as  this.'  — 
ilium  .  .  .  Luciferum :  '  that  happy 
day.' 

I,  7 

After  Messalla's  brief  but  vic- 
torious campaign  in  Aquitania, 
probably  in  B  c.  31,  he  was  sum- 
moned by  Augustus  to  help  settle 
affairs  in  the  East  (cf.  i,  3.  Intr.). 
and  his  triumph  over  the  Aquitani 
was  therefore  delayed  until  his 
return  to  Rome  in  B.C.  27,  when 
it  was  celebrated  on  Sept.  25. 
His  birthdav  occurring  a  few  davs 
thereafter,  he  received  from  Ti- 
bullus  for  the  occasion  this  con- 
gratulatory poem.  Belling  (^Un- 
tersuchung,  pp.  174-175)  has 
collected  an  interesting  series  of 
parallelisms  from  VergiFs  Georgics. 

1-12  :  '  The  Fates  decreed  that 
this  should  be  the  birthday  of  one 
who  should  subdue  proud  Aqui- 
tania. That  has  come  true,  Mes- 
salla :  the  Romans  have  seen  thy 
triumph  ;  I  was  a  witness  of  thy 
glorious  deeds,  as  were  the  ocean, 
strange  rivers,  and  people.  13- 
22 :  Witnesses,  too,  of  thy  victo- 
rious progress  are  such  eastern 
lands  as  Cilicia,  Syria,  and  Egypt. 


23-42 :  Egypt !  'Tis  to  thee, 
father  Nile,  and  to  thee,  great 
Osiris,  that  she  owes  her  preemi- 
nence in  agriculture,  especially  in 
thefruit  of  the  vine,  whichgladdens 
the  heart  of  man  and  drives  dull 
care  away.  43-54:  Yea,  Osiris, 
thou  lovest  the  festal  day,  with 
dance  and  song  and  beauty. 
Come  then,  and  join  in  the  cele- 
bration of  this  glad  natal  day! 
Come  thou,  Genius  of  the  day, 
and  let  me  offer  thee  appropriate 
offerings!  55-64:  And,  Messalla, 
may  thy  sons  live  to  emulate  thy 
deeds  and  bring  honor  to  thy 
declining  years!  Let  not  men 
forget  thy  blessings  conferred  upon 
them  !  And  may  this  day  many 
times  return,  with  ever-increasing 
joy!' 

I.  Hunc  .  .  .  diem:  Messalla's 
birthday.  — Parcae  :  the  three  sis- 
ters, Clotho  ('spinner'),  Lachesis 
(•allotter '),  and  Atropos  ('inevit- 
able').—  nentes:  so  the  fates 
sang  as  they  spun  before  the  birth 
of  Pollio's  son  in  Verg.  Ec.  4,46- 
47  :  '  tab'a  saecla^  suis  dixerunt, 
'■ao-rite''  fusts  Concordes  stabili 
fatornm  nuuiine  Parcae.  In  Cat. 
64,  323  sqq  the  prophecy  is  uttered 


140 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[7.  9 


hunc  fore,  Aquitanas  posset  qui  fundere  gentes, 
quem  tremeret  forti  milite  victus  Atax. 

evenere  :  novos  pubes  Romana  triumphos 
vidit  et  evinctos  bracchia  capta  duces : 

at  te  victrices  lauros,  Messalla,  gerentem 
portabat  niveis  currus  eburnus  equis. 

non  sine  me  est  tibi  partus  honos  :  Tarbella  Pyrene 

7.    8.    niveis  o>  nitidis  0.       9.    Tarbella  Scaliger  tua  bella  0. 


at  the  wedding  of  the  father  and 
mother,  with  the  oft-recurring  re- 
frain, *  currite  ditcentes  subtegt/iina, 
currite,f!isi.^  In  Tib.  4,  5,  3,  the 
Parcae  are  represented  as  singing 
the  fates  at  the  time  of  birth  :  te 
nasceute  novuDi  Parcae  cccinere 
puellis.  servitimii .  In  this  case 
the  time  is  undefined.  Ovid 
seems  to  have  had  this  passage  in 
mind  when  he  wrote  {Trist.  5,  3, 
25),  scilicet  hanc  legem  nentes /ala- 
lia Parcae  stainina  bis  geiiito  his 
cccinere  tibi. 

2.  dissoluenda :  cf.  v.  40;  Cat. 
66,  38,  n. — deo :  emphatic;  not 
even  the  gods  can  escape  the  de- 
crees of  fate. 

3.  hunc  :  best  taken  as  referring 
to  Messalla  himself:  for  a  simi- 
lar ambiguity  in  pronouns  cf. 
tibi  (vv.  53  and  55)  referring  to 
different  persons,  and  haec  (Prop. 
I1  13.  9»  11^  13);  Prop.  3,  II,  37, 
n. 

4.  milite:  instrumental. — Atax: 
this  river  (the  modern  Aude)  was 
in  Gallia  Narbonensis  ;  but  Roman 
geography  was  notoriously  in- 
exact; moreover  vv.  9-12  show 
that  the  poet  is  not  confining  the 


account  of  the  victorious  ]:)rogress 
of  Messalla  to  tlie  limits  of  Aqui- 
tania  proper.  As  the  Atax  was 
directly  in  the  line  of  march  from 
the  '  Province  '  to  Aquitania,  very 
likely  it  was  the  scene  of  the  first 
conflict  between  the  armies. 

5.  evenere  :  i.e.  the  predictions 
of  the  preceding  verses.  —  tri- 
umphos :  like  lauros  (v.  7),  merely 
a  poetic  plural.     Cf.  2,  5,  117. 

6.  capta  :  by  hypallage  for  cap- 
tos.  —  duces  :  among  the  features 
of  Roman  triumphal  processions 
was  a  selection  of  the  noblest  cap- 
tives led,  bound,  to  death  (com- 
monly inflicted  at  the  Tullianum) ; 
cf.  Ovid,  A.  A.  J,  215:  ibunt 
ante  duces  onerati  colla  catenis. 

8.  portabat :  descriptive  imper- 
fect.—  niveis:  cf.  Ovid,  A.  .1.  i, 
214:  quattuor  in  niveis  aureus 
ibis  equis !  —  currus  eburnus  :  the 
triumphal  car  was  richly  adorned 
with  gold  and  ivory,  and  drawn  by 
four  horses,  often,  but  not  always, 
white.  For  details  of  the  Roman 
triumph  see  Pohlmey's  Der  ro- 
mische  Triumph.     Cf.  2,  5,  120. 

9.  non  sine  me :  i.e.  Tibullus 
was  present  in  the  Aquitanian  cam- 

141 


7.   »o] 


TIBVLLI 


lo  testis  et  Oceani  litora  Santonici, 

testis  Arar  Rhodanusque  celer  magnusque  Garumna, 

Carnuti  et  flavi  caerula  lympha  Liger. 
an  te,  Cydne,  canam,  tacitis  qui  leniter  undis 
caeruleus  placidis  per  vada  serpis  aquis, 
15      quantus  et  aetherio  contingens  vertice  nubes 
frigidus  intonsos  Taurus  alat  Cilicas  ? 

12.    Carnuti  w  Carnoti  0  Carnutis  M.       13.    an  w  at  0. 


paign.  —  Tarbella     Pyrene  :     the 

Tarbelli  were  an  Aquitanian  tribe 
living  close  up  under  the  Pyrenees, 
near  the  ocean. 

10.  Santonici :  the  Santoncs 
occupied  the  territory  on  the  coast 
just  north  of  the  river  Garonne. 

IX.    Arar:   the  modern  Saone. 

12.  Carnuti  .  .  .  flavi:  gen. 
sing,  used  in  the  collective  sense  : 
'  of  the  fair-haired  Carnute.'  The 
Carnuti  lived  between  the  Seine 
and  the  Loire.  —  et :  the  trajection 
of  this  copula  occurs  more  often  in 
this  elegy  than  in  any  other  of 
Tibullus  ;  cf.  vv.  15,  21,  38,  39.  54. 
Propertius  is  equally  free  in  this 
respect ;  Ovid,  more  cautious  ;  no 
example  occurs  in  Catullus.  Cf. 
Haupt,  Opusc.  I,  p.  122.  —  caerula 
lympha  :  in  apposition  with  Liger : 
the  epithet  must  refer  to  the  bay 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  if  it  has 
any  meaning. 

13.  an  .  .  .  canam  :  the  missing 
first  member  of  this  double  ques- 
tion might  be  supplied  thus : 
utrum  taceam  quod  non  ipse  vidi. 
—  Cydne  :  though  not  the  largest 
river  of  Cilicia.  the  Cydnus  was 
important  because  Tarsus  was  situ- 


ated upon  it,  and  interesting  be- 
cause of  the  peculiarity  possibly 
referred  to  in  these  verses  and 
described  by  Strabo,  viz.  that  be- 
fore actually  reaching  the  sea  it 
flows  into  a  kind  of  lake  (p^y/Aa). 

14.  placidis:  'Thy  placid 
stream,  thine  azure  glearti^  and 
thy  wavelet's  noiseless  flow ' 
(Cranstoun).  Such  tautologies 
are  not  uncommon  in  the  poets  ; 
cf.  aestiva  in  v.  22  following  the 
same  idea  in  v.  21  ;  Sen.  Here. 
Fur.  680  :  placido  quiet  a  labitur 
Lethe  vado.  —  vada  :  '  course.' 

15.  quantus  .  .  .  contingens  .  .  . 
Taurus  alat  -  quantus  sit  Taurus 
qui  contingit  et  alit ;  cf.  qua/is 
.  .  .  adundet  (vv.  21-22).  The 
Taurus  furnished  support  to  the 
Cilicians  by  its  cultivated  slopes 
and  its  grazing  grounds. 

16  intonsos :  here  a  sign  of 
rude  barbarity  :  cf.  Liv.  21,  32,  7  : 
homines  ititonsi  et  inciclti ;  Ovid, 
Ex  P.  4,  2,  2  :  intonsis  .  .  .  Geti^. 
But  the  early  Romans  had  not  been 
so  particular  ;  barbers  first  came  to 
Rome  in  the  year  300  B  c.  ;  cf.  F. 
W.  Nicolson's  discussion  of  Greek 
and  Roman  Barbers  in  Harvard 


142 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


[7.  27 


20 


25 


quid  referam,  ut  volitet  crebras  intacta  per  urbes 

alba  Palaestino  sancta  columba  Syro, 
utque  maris  vastum  prospectet  turribus  aequor 

prima  ratem  vends  credere  docta  Tyros, 
qualis  et,  arentes  cum  findit  Sirius  agros, 

fertilis  aestiva  Nilus  abundet  aqua  ? 
Nile  pater,  quanam  possim  te  dicere  causa 

aut  quibus  in  terris  occuluisse  caput  ? 
te  propter  nullos  tellus  tua  postulat  imbres, 

arida  nee  pluvio  supplicat  herba  lovi. 
te  canit  atque  suum  pubes  miratur  Osirim 


Stud,  in  Class.  Philology,  Vol.  2, 
pp.4isqq.;   Varro,  A'.  7?.  2,  11,  10. 

18.  Palaestino:  an  adjective, 
used  with  no  well-defined  meaning 
by  Tibullus.  Palestine  was  a  part 
of  Syria,  10  be  sure  ;  but  the  fact 
referred  to  here  was  no  more 
characteristic  of  Palestine  than  of 
other  parts  of  the  general  region. 

—  sancta :  because  the  dove  was 
sacred  to  Astarte,  as  well  as  to  her 
Greek  counterpart,  Aphrodite.  — 
Syro :  dat.  of  ref.  :  '  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Syrian.' 

19.  turribus:  Mofty  palaces'; 
a  vague  word;  cf  Prop.  3,  21,  15. 
The  modern  term  is  "  skyscraper," 
at  least  in  American  cities. 

21.  qualis,  etc.  :  cf.  note  on  v. 
15.  —  Sirius:  cf.  i,  i,  27,  n. 

22.  fertilis  :  active, '  fertilizing.' 

—  abundet:  the  annual  overflow 
of  the  Nile  begins  about  the  time 
of  the  rising  of  Sirius. 

23.  pater:  cf.  Ennius,  Atiti. 
(Vahlen)  i,  54:  teqiie  pater  Ti- 
berine  tuo  cumflwnine  sancto.  The 


epithet  is  particularly  appropriate 
to  the  Nile,  without  which  Egypt 
would  not  exist  except  as  a  part  of 
the  desert ;  it  befits  a  Roman  poet 
well,  too,  for  Egypt  was  one  of  the 
principal  granaries  of  Rome.  No 
doubt  Tibullus  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  beautiful  statue  of  father 
Nile,  the  type  of  which  was  imi- 
tated in  representations  of  the 
Tiber;  cf.  Baum.  Denk.,  p.  1028. 
—  causa  :  the  question  is  answered 
by  Ovid,  Met.  2,  254-255  :  A'ilus 
in  extretnnm  fiigit  perterritus 
orbem  occuliiitqne  caput,  quod 
adhuc  latet. 

■2.A,.  occuluisse  caput :  only  in 
recent  times  has  the  source  been 
discovered.  The  Nile  problem 
was  discussed  by  Herodotus  in 
Bk.  2,  by  Seneca,  Nat.  Quaest. 
4,  I  sqq.  and  elsewhere. 

26.  pluvio  .  .  .  lovi :  cf  H.  &  T. 
§  207. 

27.  Osirim:  as  the  greatest 
male  divinity  of  the  Egyptians, 
Osiris,  the   representative   of  the 


143 


7.  28J 


TIBVLLI 


barbara,  Memphiten  plangere  docta  bovem. 
primus  aratra  manu  sollerti  fecit  Osiris 
30  et  teiieram  ferro  sollicitavit  humum, 

primus  inexpertae  commisit  semina  terrae 

pomaque  non  notis  legit  ab  arboribus. 
hie  docuit  teneram  palis  adiungere  vitem, 

hie  viridem  dura  eaedere  falee  eomam : 
35      illi  iueundos  primum  matura  sapores 

expressa  ineultis  uva  dedit  pedibus. 
ille  liquor  doeuit  voces  inflectere  cantu, 

movit  et  ad  certos  nescia  membra  modos, 
■Bacchus  et  agricolae  magno  confecta  labore 


principle  of  fructification,  was  sup- 
posed to  be  responsible  for  the 
annual  overflow  of  the  Nile,  and 
so  Ills  worship  is  here  coupled  ap- 
propriately with  that  of  father 
Nile;  cf.  Fraser,  Adonis,  Attis, 
aiul  Osiris. 

28.  Memphiten  .  .  .  bovem:  the 
sacred  bull.  Apis,  the  incarnation 
of  Osiris,  kept  at  Memphis.  — 
plangere  :  the  method  of  mourning, 
used  for  the  general  idea  of  mourn- 
ing for  one ;  rare  with  an  object. 
On  the  death  of  Apis  the  whole 
people  went  into  mourning  until  a 
new  bull  was  found  to  take  his 
place;  cf.  Plin.  N.  H.  8,  46; 
Cumont,  Oriental Relig.  in  Roman 
Paganism,  pp.  97  sqq. 

29.  aratra :  Osiris,  in  many  re- 
spects the  counterpart  of  the 
Greek  Dionysus,  was  credited  also 
with  the  invention  of  the  plow, 
and  of  the  culture  of  various  fruits 
besides  that  of  the  vine.  The  in- 
vention of  the   plow  was  usually 


attributed  to  Ceres.     For  another 
point  of  view,  cf.  i,  10,  45. 

30.  teneram :  by  way  of  con- 
trast \o  ferro  sollicitavit .  — sollici- 
tavit :  cf.  Ovid,  Fast.  4,  396 :  quas 
tellits  niillo  sollicitante  da  bat ; 
Verg.  Georg.  2,418:  sollicitanda 
tanien  tellus  pulvisqiie  movendus. 

32.  non  notis :  i.e.  those  with 
the  edible  qualities  of  whose  fruit 
men  were  as  yet  unacquainted. 

33.  teneram:  cf.  i,  i,  7;  Cic. 
Cat.  Mai.  15,  52:  vitis  .  .  . 
nisi  f Jilt  a  est,  fertiir  ad  terram.  — 
palis  adiungere :  the  so-called  al- 
ligatio  and  amputatio  referred  to 
in  these  two  verses  were  the  most 
important  arts  in  connection  with 
viticulture. 

35.  illi:  Osiris.  —  sapores:  cf. 
V.  5,  n. 

36.  ineultis:  'inexperienced.' 

37.  ille:  adjectival, 'such.' 

38.  certos  :  ■  regular.'  —  nescia  : 
'unaccustomed.' 

39.  Bacchus  =  vinum. 


144 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER  I 


[7.  49 


40  pectora  tristitiae  dissoluenda  dedit. 

Bacchus  et  adflictis  requiem  mortalibus  adfert, 

crura  licet  dura  compede  pulsa  sonent. 
non  tibi  sunt  tristes  curae  nee  luctus,  Osiri, 
sed  chorus  et  cantus  et  levis  aptus  amor, 
45      sed  varii  flores  et  frons  redimita  corymbis, 
fusa  sed  ad  teneros  lutea  palla  pedes 
et  Tyriae  vestes  et  dulcis  tibia  cantu 

et  levis  occultis  conscia  cista  sacris. 
hue  ades  et  genium  ludo  geniumque  choreis 

49.    genium  ludo  Heyne  centum  ludos  0  ludis  «. 


40.  tristitiae:  the  gen.  after 
^he  analogy  of  the  Greek,  instead 
of  the  regular  abl.  Cf.  Hor.  Car. 
3,  17,  16:  cum  famulis  operuvi 
solid  is;  Plant.  Rud.  247:  ine  om- 
nium iam  labor um  levas.  A  reg- 
ular epithet  of  Bacchus  is  Lyaeus 
('  freer '  from  care) .  —  dissoliienda 
dedit  =  fecit  id  dissolverentur ;  cf. 
also  V.  2,  n. 

42.  compede :  the  idea  of  a 
'  chain  gang '  of  workers  is  not 
modern  ;  cf.  2,  6,  25-26. 

43.  sunt:  sc.  apii ;  as  the  ad- 
jective is  expressed  only  in  v.  44, 
it  agrees  with  the  nearest  noun. 

45.  corymbis:  usually,  as  here, 
of  a  cluster  of  ivy  berries,  the 
ivy  being  especially  sacred  to 
Bacchus  and  to  Osiiis;  cf.  Ovid, 
Fast.  I,  393:  festa  corymbiferi 
celebrabas  Graecia  Bacchi;  Fraser, 
Adonis,  Attis,  and  Osi'ris,  p.  279  ; 
Creuzer,  Symbolik  u.  Mythologie, 
Vol.  4,  pp.  10  sqq. 

46.  sed :  for  the  pc>sition  cf. 
V.    12,   n.  —  lutea   palla:     a  long 


saffron  robe  was  appropriate  to 
Bacchus  —  the  woman's  garment 
being  suggestive  of  his  almost 
feminine  beauty,  and  the  color 
being  suitable  for  festive  occa- 
sions ;  cf.  Prop.  3,  17,  32  :  et  feries 
iindos  veste  fluoite  pedes ;  Sen. 
Ofd.  422  :  lidea  7 'est em  retinente 
zona.  The  combination  of  such 
an  effeminate  garment  with  the 
insignia  of  Hercules  is  ridiculed 
in  the  Frogs  of  Aristophanes, 
v.  46. 

47.  Tyriae  vestes :  a  cloak  of 
Tyrian  purple. 

48.  cista  :  the  box  containing 
the  mystic  emblems  of  the  god, 
which  was  carried  in  the  proces- 
sions of  the  festivals  of  Bacchus ; 
cf.  Cat.  64,  259  :  cavis  celebrabant 
orgia  cist  is. 

49.  hue  ades :  with  consum- 
mate skill  the  thought  has  been 
developed  from  the  Aquitanian 
triumph  to  this  summons  to  Osiris 
to  be  present  on  this  festal  day  as 
the  wine  god  whose  worship  (in  a 


ROM.  EL.  POETS —  lO 


145 


1>  50] 


TIBVLLI 


50  concelebra  et  multo  tempora  funde  mero : 

illius  et  nitido  stillent  unguenta  capillo, 

et  capite  et  coUo  moUia  serta  gerat. 
sic  venias  hodierne :  tibi  dem  turis  honores, 
liba  et  Mopsopio  dulcia  melle  feram. 
55      at  tibi  succrescat  proles,  quae  facta  parentis 
augeat  et  circa  stet  veneranda  senem. 
nee  taceat  monumenta  viae,  quern  Tuscula  tellug 

54.   liba  AV  libein  G.     melle  w  mella  0.     feram  AV  favo  G. 


figurative  sense)  will  necessarily 
be  prominent.  — genium  :  i.e.  Mes- 
salla's.  The  Genius  was  the  indi- 
vidual man's  tutelary  divinity  (cor- 
responding to  the  Juno  of  each 
woman;  cf.  H.  &  T.  §  188),  pre- 
siding over  his  life  from  birth  to 
death  (cf.  ^^«^).  Each  man  had 
his  own  Genius,  who  was  wor- 
shiped, especially  on  his  birtluiay, 
with  offerings  of  wine,  cakes,  per- 
fumes, and  garlands ;  cf.  2,  2,  i, 
sqq. ;  B.G.,  p.  78,  n.  15.  For 
the  form  of  the  verse  cf.  i,  10, 
28. 

50.  Cf.  I,  2,  3  :  neit  qtcisquain 
multo  percussiim  te»ipora  Bacc/io 
excitet. 

51.  illius:  i.e.  Genii.  It  was 
appropriate  on  such  occasions  to 
decorate  the  image  of  the  divinity 
honored.  In  this  case,  however, 
we  must  not  forget  that  the  Genius 
is  closely  identified  with  the  man 
himself.  Evidently  the  poet  is 
here  not  thinking  of  the  serpent 
form  of  Genius  representations.  — 
stillent:  cf.  2,  2,  7. 


53.  hodierne:  sc.  dens ^  i.e. 
the  Genius,  who  was  the  particu- 
lar divinity  of  a  birthday,  and  to 
whom  the  ne.xt  word  refers  ;  cf.  2, 

2,  5  ;  5»  5  :  4.  5-  9- 

54.  Mopsopio  :  honey  from  Mt. 
Hymettus.  Mopsopus  was  a  myth- 
ical king  of  Attica,  in  which 
Hymettus  stands. 

55.  tibi:  Messalla  ;  for  the  sud- 
den change  in  meaning  from  the 
tibi  in  v.  53  cf.  v.  3,  n.  —  proles: 
Messalla  had  two  sons  and  a 
daughter.     Cf.  2,  5. 

56.  augeat:  cf.  2,  5,  11 5-1 20, 
and  especially  v.  119,  n. — vene- 
randa :  '  worthy  of  honor.'  — 
senem :  sc.  te. 

57.  taceat :  sc.  ille  from  the 
following  relative  clause.  —  monu- 
menta :  '  monumental  work.'  — - 
viae  :  the  Via  Latina,  which  Mes- 
salla had  repaired,  paying  the 
expense  from  the  spoils  of  war  ac- 
cording to  the  command  of  Augus- 
tus. CitizensofTusculum  and  Alba 
would  reach  Rome  by  this  road. 
Cf.  Burn, /i?Z,.  and  RA.,  p.  252. 


146 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[lO,    2 


candidaque  antique  detinet  Alba  lare. 
namque  opibus  congesta  tuis  hie  glarea  dura 
60  sternitur,  hie  apta  iungitur  arte  silex. 

te  eanit  agricola,  e  magna  cum  venerit  urbe 

serus  inoffensum  rettuleritque  pedem. 
at  tu,  natalis  multos  celebrande  per  annos, 

candidior  semper  candidiorque  veni. 


10 

Quis  fuit,  horrendos  primus  qui  protulit  enses  ? 
quam  ferus  et  vere  ferreus  ille  f uit ! 


58.  Candida  :  the  reference  is  to 
the  same  appearance  in  the  lime- 
stone rock  which  had  originally 
given  the  name  Alba.  Cf.  Taylor, 
IVords  and  Places,  pp.  1 4 1 -i  42.  — 
lare:  'home.' 

59.  glarea :  the  broken  rock 
and  gravel  used  for  foundation, 
while  the  silex  was  the  polygonal 
flint  {selce^  regularly  used  for  the 
surface,  as  still  to-day  in  many 
Italian  cities. 

60.  apta  .  .  .  arte :  how  neat 
the  joints  were  can  still  be  seen 
from  many  extant  examples  on 
various  ancient  Roman  roads,  e.g. 
the  Via  Praenestina. 

62.  serus:  'though  late,'  and 
therefore  presumably  rather  mel- 
low. Cf.  Cic.  Ad  Fatn.  7,  22  :  bene 
pot  lis  seroqne  redierain.  —  inoffen- 
sum :   'without  stumbling.' 

63.  natalis  :   sc.  dies. 

64.  candidior  semper  candidior- 
que :  '  more  and  more  joyous.'  Cf. 
I,  10,   45;    Ovid,  Trist.  5,  5,   13: 


optinie  A^atalis  .  .  .  Candidas  hue 
veni  as. 

I,  10 

This    is    generally    considered 
the  earliest  of  Tibullus's  elegies. 

1.  It  contains  no  definite  hints  at 
any  relations  between  the  poet 
and  either  his  patron,  Messalla,  or 
his  mistress,  Delia,  with  both  of 
whom  they  were  established  by 
the  latter  part  of  the  year  31   B.C. 

2.  The  reference  to  war  in  vv.  13 
and  14  can  hardly  be  to  any  war 
later  than  the  Aquitanian  expedi- 
tion in  31  B.C.,  and  therefore,  if 
not  to  an  earlier  one,  expresses  a 
vague  premonition  of  the  ap- 
proaching conflict  of  which  the 
events   of  31    B.C.    were  a    part. 

3.  The  simplicity  of  the  form  of 
composition,  and  the  frequent  re- 
currence of  similar  thoughts  in 
different  connections,  while  be- 
longing to  the  genuine  manner  of 
Tibullus,  are  so  marked  here  as 

47 


lo.  3] 


TIBVLLI 


turn  caedes  hominum  generi,  turn  proelia  nata, 

turn  brevior  dirae  mortis  aperta  viast. 
an  nihil  ille  miser  meruit,  nos  ad  mala  nostra 

10.    5.    an  AV  at  G  forsan  et  ille  nihil  P. 


to  suggest  early  work.  Belling, 
through  a  series  of  parallel  pas- 
sages in  other  elegies  of  this  first 
book,  has  sought  to  show  that  this 
was  written  last,  as  a  climax  (Bell, 
p.  244  sqq.)  ;  but  the  examples 
may  as  easily  be  considered  imita- 
tions of  this,  as  imitated  by  this 
elegy.  The  early  part  of  B.C.  31, 
or  possibly  the  end  of  b.c.  32, 
is,  therefore,  the  most  probable 
date  when  the  poet  fears  that  he 
will  be  drawn  into  the  impending 
conflict  If  the  expectation  is 
based  on  his  liability  to  serve  the 
usual  campaign  as  a  young  man  of 
seventeen  years,  this  may  be  an 
important  poem  in  determining 
the  date  of  the  author's  birth. 
Cf.  Intr  §  21.  The  elegy  forms  a 
fitting  close  to  Bk.  i,  from  its 
striking  similarity  in  theme  and 
many  points  of  treatment  to  the 
opening  poem  of  the  book. 

I -14:  'War  is  a  hateful  tiling. 
a  child  of  avarice ;  the  good  old 
days  knew  it  not.  It  would  have 
been  pleasanter  to  live  then  !  15- 
32  :  Preserve  me,  Lares,  as  you 
did  in  my  childhood  ;  things  were 
better  in  the  days  of  simplicity 
which  you  represent ;  spare  me, 
and  I  will  render  you  your  due. 
Let  another  be  a  doughty  warrior  ! 
33-44:  What  madness  to  covet  a 
violent  death  on  the  battlefield  ! 


All  is  gloom  in  Acheron ;  how 
much  better  to  lead  a  humble, 
peaceful  life  on  a  little  farm  !  45- 
68  :  Let  peace  hold  sway,  under 
wliose  rule  happy  home  life  flour- 
ishes, and  there  are  no  battles 
save  those  of  love,  and  even  these 
but  playful  contests !  Come,  Peace, 
and  bless  us ! ' 

1.  enses  :  the  words  lead  up  to 
the  idea  oiferreus,  '  iron-hearted.' 

2.  ferus  .  .  .  ferreus :  allitera- 
tion and  assonance,  which  played 
an  important  r61e  in  early  Latin 
poetry,  survived  in  the  classical 
period  mainly  in  certain  formulas 
or  stereotyped  expressions.  This 
one,  for  example,  occurs  in  Cic. 
Ad  Q.  Fr.  1,3,  3  ;  qiie?)i  ego  ferns 
ac  ferreus  e  complexu  ;  cf.  Cat. 
76,  20.  The  same  process  has 
been  gone  through  in  other  lan- 
guages ;  cf.  Eng.  •'  weal  and  woe," 
'•  slow  and  sure,"  "  fun  and  frolic," 
etc.  Other  instances  of  ferreus 
in  this  sense  in  Tibullus  may  be 
seen  :  i.  2,  65  :  ferreus  ille  fuit  ; 
2,  3,  2;  3,  2,  2. 

4.  mortis  .  .  .  via :  cf.  i,  3,  50  ; 
Ovid,  Af^/.  II,  792:  letique  via/n 
sine  fine  reteuiptat ;  Prop.  3,  7,  2  ; 
Hor.  Car.  i.  3,  32  :  tarda  tiecessitas 
leti  corripuit  gradum. 

5.  miser :  '  unfortunate '  in  be- 
ing blamed  rather  than  really  re- 
sponsible.     Note    the   asyndeton 


ia8 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


C'o.  13 


10 


vertimus  in  saevas  quod  dedit  ille  feras  ? 
divitis  hoc  vitium  est  auri,  nee  bella  fuerunt, 

faginus  adstabat  cum  scyphus  ante  dapes. 
non  arces,  non  vallus  erat,  somnumque  petebat 

securus  varias  dux  gregis  inter  oves. 
tunc  mihi  vita  foret,  vulgi  nee  tristia  nossem 

arma  nee  audissem  corde  micante  tubam  : 
nunc  ad  bella  trahor,  et  iam  quis  forsitan  hostis 


II.    vu]g[  0  du\c\s //euisius. 


in  the  contrast  with  the  emphatic 

6.  in  .  .  .  feras :  the  prepo- 
sition here  expresses  purpose  ;  cf. 
Prop.  1,  7,  6,  n. 

7.  divitis:  'precious';  cf.  i, 
9,  3 1  :  non  nllo  divitis  auri  pon- 
dere  ;  3,  3,  1 1  :  nam  grave  quid 
prodest  pondus  mihi  divitis  auri ; 
Prop.  3,  5,  4. —vitium  est  auri: 
cf.  I,  I,  I  ;   Prop.  3,  7,  1-2. 

8.  faginus  :  a  token  of  primitive 
simplicity  in  Rome,  before  the 
advent  of  cups  made  of  silver  and 
gold,  or  precious  stones  ;  cf.  Prop. 
3,  5,  4;  Plin.  JV.  H.  16,  38: 
Manias  Curius  iuravit  se  iii/iil 
ex  praeda  attigisse  praeter  guttum 
faginuin  quo  sacrificaret ;  Ovid, 
A/et.  8,  669;  J^asr.  5,  522: 
pocula  fagus  erant ;  Verg.  Ec.  3, 
36..  The  same  general  idea  is 
brought  out  in  Tib.  i,  i,  37-4O1 
where  the  picti/ia  pocula  (of  com- 
mon pottery)  are  praised;  cf.  i, 
I,  38,  n.  —  scyphus:  cf.  Varro, 
apud  Gell  3,  14,  3. 

9.  vallus  :  the  rarer  masc.  form 
for  ihe  sake  of  the  meter. 


10.  varias  :  no  effort  was  made 
to  separate  sheep  of  different  col- 
ors, but  all  were  allowed  to  run  in 
the  same  flock.  —  dux  gregis  = 
'the  shepherd'  ;  but  in  2,  i,  58, 
dux pecoris  =  '  the  ram' ;  cf  Ovid, 
A  1)1.  3.  13,  17:  duxque  gregis 
cor  nil  per  t  em  par  a  dura  recurve. 

11.  foret:  for  the  more  exact 
puis  set,  i.e.  o  si  tum  vixissem ! 
The  tense  makes  the  picture  more 
vivid.  An  unfulf:lled  wish  in  this 
form  is  rare;  cf.  G.  261,  N.  2. — 
vulgi :  it  is  an  everyday  passion, 
fit  for  the  rabble,  to  fight  and  win 
sordid  gain ;  Tibullus  thinks  his 
tastes  purer  and  higher. 

13.  nunc  =  vvv  Se,  'as  it  is,'  re- 
ferring to  the  actual  state  of  affairs 
by  way  of  contrast  to  the  previ- 
ous condition  contrary  to  fact.  — 
trahor  :  the  syllable  is  lengthened 
in  this  thesis  before  the  following 
caesura.  Cf.  Intr.  §43;  Verg. 
Aen.  II,  323:  co/isidant  si  tantus 
amor,  et  moenia  condant.  —  quis  : 
for  the  more  usual  a/iquis,  be- 
cause taken  closely  with  forsitan, 
a  compound  of  a?i. 


149 


10,   14] 


TIBVLLl 


15 


20 


haesura  in  nostro  tela  gerit  latere, 
sed  patrii  servate  lares  :  aluistis  et  idem, 

cursarem  vestros  cum  tener  ante  pedes, 
neu  pudeat  prisco  vos  esse  e  stipite  factos : 

sic  veteris  sedes  incoluistis  avi. 
tunc  melius  tenuere  fidem,  cum  paupere  cultu 

stabat  in  exigua  ligneus  aede  deus. 
hie  placatus  erat,  seu  quis  libaverat  uvam 

seu  dederat  sanctae  spicea  serta  comae : 
atque  aliquis  voti  compos  liba  ipse  ferebat 

postque  comes  purum  filia  parva  favum. 


14.  haesura :  '  destined  to 
rankle.' 

15.  servate:  i.e.  from  wiix,  not 
in  war.  —  et  idem :  pleonastic. 

16.  tener:  'in  tender  youth.' 
—  ante  pedes:  because  the  little 
images  of  the  Lares  used  to  stand 
in  a  shrine  called  the  Larariia/i 
over  the  hearth  ;  cf.  2,  2,  22. 

17.  neu  pudeat :  cf.  i,  i,  38. — 
prisco  :  '  old-fashioned  ' ;  cf  v. 
15;  I,  3,  34;  2,  I,  60:  I,  7,  58. 
The  frequent  use  of  such  epithets 
for  the  Lares  implies  a  conscious- 
ness that  the}'  no  longer  enjoyed 
the  universal  veneration  of  former 
days.  —  stipite  :  in  early  times  the 
images  of  the  Lares  were  made  of 
wood ;  later,  of  stone  or  metal, 
often  of  silver.  See  Preller'',  2, 
p.  108;  Baum.  Denk.,  Vol.  2, 
p.  810;   I.  p.  77,  fig.  79. 

18.  sic:  i.e.  when  your  images 
were  fashioned  of  such  humble 
material  as  wood. 

19.  tenuere :  sc.  homines.  — 
paupere  cultu  :  '  slight  adorn- 
ment.' 


20.  exigua  .  .  .  aede:  'humble 
shrine,'  as  contrasted  with  the 
more  elaborate  Lararia  of  later 
times.  —  deus:  the  reference  is 
here  apparently  to  the  Lares  ;  but 
a  similar  simplicity  prevailed  in 
early  times  in  the  form  of  other 
images  of  divinities ;  cf.  Ovid, 
Fast.  I,  201-202  :  luppiter  atigusta 
vix  totus  stabat  in  aede  inque  lovis 
dextra  fictile  fitlmen  erat ;  Verg. 
Aen.  7,  177  sqq.  :  veterwn  effigies 
ex  ordi)ie  avorum  antigua  e  cedro, 
Italusqiie  paterque  Sabiniis  .  .  . 
vestibido  adstabant. 

21.  placatus:  'gracious.'  — 
uvam  =  vininn. 

22.  spicea  serta:  cf.  i,  i,  15. 

23.  aliquis  =  si  qtiis  erat. 

24.  filia  parva  :  cf.  Ovid,  Fast. 
2,  652  :  porrigit  incisos  filia  parva 
favos.  On  the  propitiatory  power 
of  honey,  especially  for  the  souls 
of  the  dead,  cf.  Porph.  De  Ant. 
A^w///.  i6and  28.  Wissowa  (/?^/. 
u.  Kidt.  d.Romer.,  p.  153)  con- 
siders the  Lares  to  be  the  souls  of 
the  dead. 


150 


.ci_C 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[lo.  37 


25      at  nobis  aerata,  lares,  depellite  tela, 

hostiaque  e  plena  rustica  porcus  hara. 
banc  pura  cum  veste  sequar  myrtoque  canistra 

vincta  geram,  myrto  vinctus  et  ipse  caput, 
sic  placeam  vobis :  alius  sit  fortis  in  armis, 
30  sternat  et  adversos  Marte  favente  duces, 

ut  mihi  potanti  possit  sua  dicere  facta 

miles  et  in  mensa  pingere  castra  mero. 
quis  furor  est  atram  bellis  arcessere  mortem  ? 
inminet  et  tacito  clam  venit  ilia  pede. 
35      non  seges  est  infra,  non  vinea  culta,  sed  audax 
Cerberus  et  Stygiae  navita  turpis  aquae : 
illic  percussisque  genis  ustoque  capillo 

26.  Pontaniis  conjectured  a  lacuna  before  this,  and  stipplied  4  vv. 
hostiaque  e  0  hostia  erit  w.  37.  percussisque  0  perscissisque  P  peitusisque 
Livineius  rescissisque   Lachmann  (parcel)    ustisque   Deutsch. 


25.  nobis  :  emphatic  ;  '  but  in 
my  case '  the  petition  is,  "  depellite 
tela !  " 

26.  porcus  :  and  so  an  extraor- 
dinary thankoffering  is  promised 
instead  of  the  usual  trifling  gifts 
mentioned  in  vv.  21-24.  Sc.  er/t. 
For  similar  omissions  of  the  copula 
of.  I,  3.  49-  50;  Prop.  3.  16,  8. 
This  verse  is  practically  the  con- 
clusion of  the  condition  implied  in 
the  impv.  depellite  ;  for  the  thought 
cf.  I,  1,22. 

27.  myrtoque:  cf.  Hor.  Car. 
3,  23,  16. — canistra:  these  con- 
tained sacrificial  utensils  and  offer- 
ings. 

29.  sic:  by  such  offerings. — 
alius  :  cf .  1,1,  i . 

32.  pingere  .  .  .  mero:  cf.  Ovid, 
Her.  I,  31-32:    atque  aliquis  po- 


sit a  monstrat  /era  proelia  j/ieiisa 
pingit  et  exiguo  Pergaina  tola 
mero. 

34.  inminet :  note  the  contrast 
to  arcessere.  —  tacito  .  .  .  pede : 
cf.  Ovid,  ^.  ^.  3,  712  :  ipsa  nemns 
tacito  cla»!  pede  fortis  in  it. 

35.  non  seges  .  .  .  culta  :  cf. 
I,  3,  61.  The  whole  description 
of  the  lower  world  following  i, 
3,  61  is  to  be  compared  with  this 
passage. 

36.  navita  turpis  :  Charon  :  cf. 
Verg.  Aeit.  6,  315:  navita  sed 
trtstis  ;  299  :  terribili  sqnalore 
Charon  ;  Prop.  3,  18,  24. 

37.  percussisque  genis  :  the  im- 
agination of  the  ancients  pictured 
the  dead  as  continuing  in  the  same 
state  as  that  in  which  they  were 
last  seen  in  the  flesh,  i.e.  on  the 


151 


lo,  38] 


TIBVLLI 


errat  ad  obscuros  pallida  turba  lacus. 
quam  potius  laudandus  hie  est  quern  prole  parata 
40  occupat  in  parva  pigra  senecta  casa ! 

ipse  suas  sectatur  oves,  at  filius  agnos, 

et  calidam  fesso  conparat  uxor  aquam. 
sic  ego  sim,  liceatque  caput  candescere  canis, 
temporis  et  prisci  facta  referre  senem. 
45      interea  Pax  arva  colat.     Pax  Candida  primum 
duxit  araturos  sub  iuga  curva  boves, 
Pax  aluit  vites  et  sucos  condidit  uvae, 

funderet  ut  nato  testa  paterna  merum  : 
pace  bidens  vomerque  nitent  —  at  tristia  duri 
50  militis  in  tenebris  occupat  arma  situs  — 


39.  quam  GP  quin  AV.  40.  occupat  0  occulit  P.  46.  curva  AV 
panda  P.  49.  bidens  PV  nitens  A.  vomerque  PV  vomer  A.  nitent  Guyetus 
nitet  P  vident  A  viderit  V  vigent  sec.  man.  V  w. 


funeral  pyre.  Cf.  2,  6.  39-40. 
Hence  the  idea  of  shades  •  with 
smitten  cheeks  and  singed  locks' 
(•  sunken  chaps.'  —  Cranst.). 

38.  lacus :  the  rivers  of  the 
lower  world  are  continually  repre- 
sented as  sluggish,  like  standing 
water;  cf.  3,  5,  24;  Prop.  4,  11, 
15;  Verg.  Aen.  6,  323:  Cocyti 
stagna  alta  vides  Stygiamque  pa- 
in de  in. 

39.  laudandus  :  '  to  be  deemed 
happy.'  —  hie:  rare  quantity. 

40.  occupat:  'overtakes.'  — 
pigra  :  cf.  i,  i,  58. 

42.  aquam:  for  bathing.  Cf. 
Hor.  Epod.  2,  43  :  exstniat  lignis 

focu7n  lassi  sub  adventuiii  I'iri. 

43.  sic  ego  sim:  cf.  the  close 
of  the  previous  paragraph,  v.  29 ; 


the  poet  recurs  to  the  main  wish, 
viz.  to  avoid  war  and  enjoy  peace. 
—  candescere:  cf.  Prop.  2,  18,  5  : 
quid  inea  si  canis  aetas  candesceret 
annis. — canis:  ?>z.  capillis. 

44.  temporis  . . .  prisci :  cf.  Hor. 
Ep.  2,  3,  173;  laudator  temporis 
acti,  a  tendency  characteristic  of 
old  age. 

45.  interea:  i.e.  till  I  reach  old 
age.     Cf.  I,  I.  69. 

46.  araturos  :  A.  499,  2.  Cf.  i, 
7,  29.  —  curva  :  cf.  Ovid,  Ex  P. 
1 ,  8,  54  :  ducaJH  ruricolas  sub  iuga 
curiia  boves. 

48.  testa:  i.e.  amphora;  cf. 
note  on  2,  5.  85. — merum:  see 
B.  G.,  p.  128,  n.  7. 

49.  nitent:  cf.  Ov'\6.,  Fast.  4, 
927  :  sarcula  mine  durusque  bidens 


\i.2 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    I 


[lo,  63 


rusticus  e  lucoque  vehit,  male  sobrius  ipse, 

uxorem  plaustro  progeniemque  domum. 
sed  Veneris  turn  bella  calent,  scissosque  capillos 

femina  perfractas  conqueriturque  fores  : 
55      flet  teneras  subtusa  genas,  sed  victor  et  ipse 

flet  sibi  dementes  tarn  valuisse  manus. 
at  lascivus  Amor  rixae  mala  verba  ministrat, 

inter  et  iratum  lentus  utrumque  sedet. 
ah  lapis  est  ferrumque,  suam  quicumque  puellam 
60  verberat :  e  caelo  deripit  ille  decs. 

sit  satis  e  membris  tenuem  rescindere  vestem, 

sit  satis  ornatus  dissoluisse  comae, 
sit  lacrimas  movisse  satis  :  quater  ille  beatus 


51.    IFaupt  conjectured  the  loss  of  a  distich    before   this  v.       55.  subtusa 
0  obttisa  Nemethy.       61.  rescindere  «  perscindere  AV. 


et  vofiier  aduncus,  ruris  opes,  ni- 
ieant ;  inqiihiet  anna  situs. 

51.  lucoque:  the  sacred  grove 
where  the  reHgious  rites  of  a  rural 
holiday  would  be  celebrated,  fol- 
lowed by  the  festive  amusements 
of  the  day.  Cf.  Prop.  4,  6,  71  ; 
Ovid,  Fast.  3,  525  sqq.  ;  Hor.  Ep. 
2,  I,  140-144.  For  the  position  of 
the  -que,  cf.  Intr.  §28;  Munro\s 
note  on  Lucr.  2,  1050  ;  Ovid,  Fast. 
2,  177,  etc.  —  male  =  «(^«  .•  cf. 
Ovid,  Fa.st .  6,  785  :  ecce  suhurbana 
rediens  male  sobrius  aede ;  Her. 
7,  27  :  ille  quidem  male  gratus  ; 
Verg.  Aen.  2,  23  :  statio  male  fida 
carinis.  —  ipse:  as  distinguished 
from  the  wife  and  children.  Cf. 
for  the  customary  indulgence  2, 
I,  29. 

52.  Cf.  Livy,  5,  40,  10. 


53.  scissosque  capillos :  with 
this  passage  cf.  Prop.  2,  5,  21  sqq.; 
Hor.  Car.  1,1"],  26-28. 

56.    flet :  cf.  2.  5,  103. 

58.  iratum  .  .  .  utrumque:  'the 
angry  pair'  (Cranst.). — lentus: 
'  calmly  ' ;  cf.  Ovid,  Am.  3,  6.  59- 
60 :  ///(■  Jtahet  et  silices  et  Tiinn/i 
ill  pectore  ferriim.  qui  tenero  lacri- 
>nas  lentus  in  ore  videt. 

59.  Cf.  V.  2;   I,  I,  63. 

60.  deripit:  cf  i,  2,  82:  ser- 
taque  de  Sanctis  deripuisse  focis. 
The  idea  here  is  borrowed  from 
the  attack  of  the  Giants  upon 
heaven. 

62.  sit  satis  :  cf.  the  repetition 
in  I,  I,  43.  —  dissoliiisse  :  for  the 
tense  cf.  i,  i,  46.  n. 

63.  For  another  point  of  view 
see  I,  I,  51. — quater:  a  variation 


153 


ro,  64] 


TIBVLLI 


quo  tenera  irato  flere  puella  potest. 
65      sed  manibus  qui  saevus  erit,  scutumque  sudemque 
is  gerat  et  miti  sit  procul  a  Venere. 
at  nobis,  Pax  alma,  veni  spicamque  teneto, 
perfluat  et  pomis  candidus  ante  sinus. 


LIBER   SECVNDVS 


I 

Quisquis  adest,  faveat :  fruges  lustramus  et  agros, 
ritus  ut  a  prisco  traditus  extat  avo. 

68.  perfluat  w  prefluat  AV  profluat  G. 


on  the  common  formula,  terqiie 
qiiaierque  ;  cf.  3,  3,  26 ;  Verg.  Ae/i. 
1.94. 

65.  scutumque  .  .  .  gerat :  i.e. 
let  him  rather  than  me  go  to  war. 

67.  Representations  of  Pax 
(found  mostly  on  coins)  commonly 
have  not  only  an  olive  branch  and 
a  cornucopia,  but  also  a  bundle  of 
ears  of  corn  in  one  hand.  —  teneto  : 
the  colloquial  impv.  in  -^0  without 
special  fut.  force.  Cf.  PAPA., 
Vol.  26  (1895),  p.  Ixi. 

68.   ante  :  adv.  of  place. 


As  different  Roman  festivals 
had  certain  features  in  common,  it 
is  not  always  easy  to  decide  posi- 
tively which  occasion  may  be  in 
the  mind  of  a  poet  like  Vergil  or 
Tibullus.  Some  of  the  features 
in  the  following  description  have 


led  editors  to  suppose  the  poet  to 
refer  to  the  Sementivae,  or  Paga- 
nalia,  celebrated  in  January ;  cf. 
Ovkl  FasL  I.  657-680;  Fowler, 
Pfl///.  p£s/..  pp.  294  sqq.  But  the 
poet  is  more  commonly  supposed 
to  be  describing  the  Ambarvalia. 
Cf.  Fowler, /?(^w/.  PesL^pp.  124  sqq. 
Cf.  also  Fowler,  Class.  Re7>.^\'o\. 
22  (1908).  pp.  37-40.  Besides  the 
public  festival  of  the  Ambarvalia, 
celebrated  annually  in  May,  every 
Roman  possessor  of  a  farm  used 
to  perform  similar  rites  of  purifica- 
tion for  his  own  fields  and  crops 
about  the  last  of  April  or  first  of 
May.  The  name  of  the  festival 
is  derived  from  the  custom  of  lead- 
ing thrice  around  the  estate  {arva 
and  ambire)  the  sacrificial  victim 
or  victims  before  slaying  them. 
At  the  greater  celebration  the  vic- 
tims were  a  boar,  a  ram,  and  a  bull 
{suovetjurilia)  ;   but  private  citi- 


154 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[I,  6 


Bacche,  veni,  dulcisque  tuis  e  cornibus  uva 
pendeat,  et  spicis  tempora  cinge,  Ceres. 

luce  sacra  requiescat  humus,  requiescat  arator, 
et  grave  suspense  vomere  cesset  opus. 


zens  might  employ  the  lesser  siio- 
vetaiirilia  (pig,  lamb,  calf),  or 
offer  only  one  of  these.  The  di- 
vinities especially  worshiped  were 
Mars  (in  early  times),  Ceres,  and 
Bacchus.  This  description  of  the 
Ambarvalia  must  have  been  writ- 
ten after  27  B.C.  (cf.  V.  33),  per- 
haps the  next  spring.  Another 
picture  of  tlie  same  festival  may 
be  seen  in  Verg.  Georg.  i,  338 
sqq.  For  a  modern  description 
see  Walter  Pater's  Marius  the 
Epicurean,  pp.  3  sqq. 

I-14:  Invitation  to  the  feast: 
'  Keep  silence  all  !  Come,  Bac- 
chus !  Come,  Ceres  !  This  is  a 
sacred  day,  a  day  of  rest  for  man 
and  beast.  Come  purified  to  the 
sacred  altars!  15-26:  The  sol- 
emn procession  advances.  Gods 
of  my  father,  accept  this  offering, 
defend  field  and  flock,  and  grant 
prosperity  to  my  estate.  Lo!  the 
prayer  is  heard.  27-36:  Now  let 
us  enjoy  the  festal  banquet,  and 
drinli  our  fill ;  and  while  each 
pledges  thy  health,  Messalla,  come 
thyself  and  inspire  my  song  of 
praise.  37-66  :  My  theme  is  agri- 
culture and  its  gods.  They  taught 
men  to  lead  a  civilized  life.  How 
delightful  is  rustic  life,  with  its 
plenty  and  its  joys!  Hence  came 
the  drama,  the  forms  of  worship, 
and  the  art  of  weaving.     67-90 : 


Cupid,  too,  they  say,  is  a  child  of 
the  fields.  How  skillful  and  bold 
he  has  grown  !  Neither  old  man, 
youth,  nor  maid  is  safe  from  his 
darts.  Yet  happy  he  who  wins  his 
favor  !  Come  then,  Cupid,  to  the 
feast,  but  leave  thy  quiver  behind. 
Invoke,  friends,  the  favor  of  this 
God  for  the  flocks  ;  for  yourself 
too,  if  you  will.  Make  merry  !  for 
night  comes  on  apace.' 

I.  faveat :  sc.  Ihiffaa,  i.e.  let 
no  inauspicious  word  fall.  Cf.  2,  2, 
I  ;  Hor.  Car.  3.  1,2:  favete  Un- 
guis. —  fruges  lustramus  :  i.e.  by 
anticipation. 

3.  cornibus :  Bacchus  was  some- 
times represented  with  horns,  as 
an  emblem  of  power  and  abun- 
dance (cf.  cornucopia)  ;  cf.  Baum. 
Denk.,  p.  435;  Prop.  3.  17,  19: 
per  te  et  tua  cornua.,  vivam  ;  Hor. 
Car.  2,  19,  29:  te  vidit  insons 
Cerberus  aureo  cornit  decorum ; 
K.  P.  H.  in  A/^.,  Vol.  5  (1901), 
p.  7. 

4.  spicis  .  .  .  cinge  :  the  wreath 
of  ears  of  corn  was  a  stated  attri- 
bute of  Ceres;  cf.  i.  i.  15  ;  i,  10, 
22 ;  Hor.  Car.  Saec.  30 :  spicea 
donet  Cerereiii  corona.  Baum. 
Deiik.,  p.  417. 

5.  luce  =  die.  —  5  sqq. :  cf. 
Ovid,  Fast.  1,663-665. 

6.  suspenso  :  so  slight  and  sim- 
ple an  affair  was  the  ancient  plow 


155 


».  7j 


TIBVLLI 


10 


15 


solvite  vincla  iugis :  nunc  ad  praesepia  debent 

plena  coronato  stare  boves  capite. 
omnia  sint  operata  deo :  non  audeat  ulla 

lanificam  pensis  inposuisse  manum. 
vos  quoque  abesse  procul  iubeo,  discedat  ab  aris, 

cui  tulit  hesternaTgaudia  nocte  Venus, 
casta  placent  superis  :  pura  cum  veste  venite 

et  manibus  puris  sumite  fontis  aquam. 
cernite,  fulgentes  ut  eat  sacer  agnus  ad  aras 

vinctaque  post  olea  Candida  turba  comas, 
di  patrii,  purgamus  agros,  purgamus  agrestes : 


(for  a  description  see  Verg.  Georg. 

1,  169-175)  that  this  word  is  Hter- 
ally  correct.  The  plow  was  often 
hung  on  a  limb  in  the  same  posi- 
tion as  that  of  a  sc3the  to-day. 

7.  iugis :  •  the  team,'  just  as  we 
say,  "a  yoke  of  oxen  ■'  Best  con- 
sidered as  a  dat. ;  for  the  connec- 
tion shows  that  everything  is  to 
be  done  on  this  occasion  for  the 
comfort  and  well-being  of  the 
cattle,  as  well  as  that  of  their 
owners.  This  does  not  prevent 
the  emphasizing  of  the  idea  of 
separation  in  translation.  Cf.  A 
229;  H.  427. 

8.  Wreathing  of  cattle  was 
practiced  not  merely  when  the 
animals  were  to  be  sacrificed. 
One  of  the  most  familiar  decora- 
tive features  in  art  is  garlanded 
ox  skulls. 

9.  operata :  '  be  performed  in 
honor  of,'  i.e.  '  praise  ' ;  cf.  v.  65  ; 

2,  5.  95  ;  Prop.  2,  28,  45  ;  Verg. 
Geotg.  I.  339. — non:  instead  of 
the  regular  ne,  because  it  belongs 


,to  ulla ;  fiullus  is  quite  often  di- 
vided in  poetry.  —  ulla  :  sc.  piiella ; 
cf.  I,  3.  87.  Woman's  work  is  to 
stop,  as  well  as  man's. 

10.  lanificam :  a  poetic  adjec- 
tive, perhaps  first  found  in  this 
passage. 

11.  vos:  explained  by  the  fol- 
lowing clause,  where  the  construc- 
tion changes  ;  for  a  similar  change 
from  plural  to  singular,  cf.  i,  6, 
39  :  i/i/u  procul  absitis,  qjiisquis 
col  it  arte  capillos. 

14.  fontis:  only  living  water 
would  do  for  purposes  of  purifi- 
cation. 

15.  agnus :  the  victim  had  been 
led  three  times  around  the  farm, 
and  is  now  about  to  be  sacrificed. 

16.  Candida:  cf.  i,  10,  27. — 
turba  :  the  \\\\o\&  fa/fiilia,  agrestes, 
etc. 

17.  di  patrii:  an  indefinite 
term,  including  doubtless  Mars, 
Bacchus,  and  Ceres,  and  all  others 
under  whose  protection  the  an- 
cestral estate  had  hitherto  thrived. 

56 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


[i.  27 


20 


25 


vos  mala  de  nostris  pellite  limitibus, 
neu  seges  eludat  messem  fallacibus  herbis, 

neu  timeat  celeres  tardior  agna  lupos. 
turn  nitidus  plenis  confisus  rusticus  agris 

ingeret  ardenti  grandia  ligna  foco, 
turbaque  vernarum,  saturi  bona  signa  coloni. 

ludet  et  ex  virgis  extruet  ante  casas. 
eventura  precor  :  viden  ut  felicibus  extis 

significet  placidos  nuntia  fibra  deos  ? 
nunc  mihi  fumosos  veteris  proferte  Falernos 


18.  pellite:  'avert':  used  in- 
stead of  the  obsolete  averruncare 
of  the  ancient  formula. 

19.  eludat:  originally  a  gladi- 
atorial term,  to  'parry'  an  enemy's 
thrust ;  hence  to  '  disappoint.' 
We  should  have  expected  nies- 
sore/n  ;  but  the  '  crop  '  is  repre- 
sented as  disappointed  because 
it  cannot  fulfill  i's  promise. — 
herbis :  the  green  blades  which 
make  only  a  fair  show. 

21.  turn:  'in  that  case,' /.^.  if 
my  prayers  are  granted .  —  nitidus  : 
'  trim.' 

22.  Cf.  Hor.  Epod.  2,  43: 
sacrian  vetiistis  exstniat  lignis 
focuvi. 

24.  ante :  adverb,  sc.  fores.  — 
casas :  leafy  bowers  such  as  were 
often  woven  together  on  festal  oc- 
casions, in  which  to  enjoy  the 
luxuries  of  idleness  and  wine- 
drinking.  Cf.  2,  5.  97;  Pervigi- 
liiDii  Ven.  6-7  :  inter  umbras 
arbornm  inplicat  casas  vireniis 
de  flagello  ttiyrteo  ;  Copa  8  :  et 
tridia  utnbrosis  frigida  harimdin- 


ibiis ;  Ovid,  Fast.  3,  528:  c  minis 
frondea  facta  casa  est ;  C7ass. 
J?ev.,  Vol.  22  (1908),  p.  39. 

25.  extis:  including  theoreti- 
cally the  liver,  heart,  lungs,  gall, 
and  caul  of  the  victims  ;  but  we 
need  not  suppose  that  a  minute 
examination  was  made,  if  there 
were  signs  of  a  propitious  omen. 

26.  fibra :  here  in  the  proper 
signification  of  the  filament  ter- 
minating the  exta  ;  often  by  syn- 
ecdoche for  exta  itself,  as  in  i,  8, 
3  :  nee  tnihi  sunt  sortes  nee  conscia 
fibra  deoruni. 

27.  fumosos:  wine  was  com- 
monl}-  left  in  a  fieinariit/n,  or 
smoke-chamber,  where  it  gathered 
a  flavor  much  relished  by  the 
ancients;  cf.  Ov\d,  Fast.  5,  518: 
funwso  condita  vina  cado.  B.  G., 
p.  489.  —  Falernos :  sc.  cados. 
Falernian  and  Chian  wines  are 
types  of  the  choicest  vintages, 
native  and  foreign.  As  the 
former  was  acid  and  the  latter 
sweet,  they  were  favorites  for 
mixing.    Cf.  Intr.  §  42,  I  (4). 


157 


1, 28] 


TIBVLLI 


consulis  et  Chio  solvite  vincla  cado. 
vina  diem  celebrent :  non  festa  luce  madere 
30  est  rubor,  errantes  et  male  ferre  pedes. 

sed  '  bene  Messallam  '  sua  quisque  ad  pocula  dicat, 

nomen  et  absentis  singula  verba  sonent. 
gentis  Aquitanae  celeber  Messalla  triumphis 

et  magna  intonsis  gloria  victor  avis, 
35       hue  ades  adspiraque  mihi,  dum  carmine  nostro 

redditur  agricolis  gratia  caelitibus. 
rura  cano  rurisque  deos.     his  vita  magistris 

desuevit  querna  pellere  glande  famem : 

1.    29.    celebrent  AV  celebrant  P.        38.    glande  GP  grande  AV. 


28.  consulis :  the  age  of  the 
wine  was  indicated  by  the  name, 
on  the  jar  or  the  tag  attached  to 
it.  of  the  consul  under  whom  it 
was  made.  Good  Falernian,  ac- 
cording to  Plin.  A^.  H.  23,  34, 
should  be  not  less  than  15  years 
old.  ^vincla:  botli  the  stopper 
and  the  gypsum  or  pitch  with 
which  it  was  sealed. 

29.  madere :  sc.  vitio.  Cf.  2, 
2,  8 ;  5,  87 ;  Plaut.  Most.  319: 
ecquid  tibi  videor  iiia-iua-ina- 
dere  f 

30.  errantes  :  •  unsteady.' 

31 .  bene  Messallam  :  sc.  valere 
iuheo ;  cf.  our  own  abbreviated 
form  of  toasts,  "  Here's  to,"  etc. 
Cf.  Ovid,  J^asL  2.  637  :  'dene  vos, 
bene  te,  patriae  pater,  optime 
Caesar ! ' 

32.  absentis:  sc.  Messallae ] 
the  participle  has  concessive  force. 
—  singula  :  a  hyperbole  :  let  his 
name  recur  at  almost  every  word 


spoken,  i.e.  be  constantly  on  the 
lips  of  the  banqueters  ! 

33.  celeber:  this  may  be  the 
first  instance  of  the  use  of  the 
word  in  the  sense  of  '  famous.'  — 
triumphis  :  for  the  plural  cf.  i,  7, 
5  ;  the  occasion  is  the  same  there 
referred  to. 

34.  intonsis  :  a  common  epithet 
cf  the  Romans  of  early  times,  be- 
fore the  tonsorial  art  was  in  vogue. 
Cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  12,  41  :  intojtsis 
Curium  ca pi II is.     Cf.  i,  7,  16.  n. 

35.  ades  adspiraque:  Messalla 
is  invoked,  as  if  he  were  one  of 
the  Muses.  So  Vergil  called  upon 
Maecenas  in  Georg.  2,  39 :  tuque 
ades,  inceptuntque  una  decurre 
laborem,  0  decus  .  .  .  Maecenas. 

36.  agricolis:  'patrons  of  hus- 
bandry.' 

38.  glande :  for  acorns  as  a 
staple  of  food  in  the  Golden  Age, 
cf.  Ovid,  Met.  i,  106;  Atn.  3,  10, 
9;    Fast.   I,  676;    Tib.  2,  3,  68: 


158 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[I.  52 


illi  conpositis  primum  docuere  tigillis 
40  exiguam  viridi  fronde  operire  domum, 

illi  etiam  tauros  primi  docuisse  feruntur 

servitium  et  plaustro  supposuisse  rotam. 
turn  victus  abiere  feri,  turn  consita  pomus, 
turn  bibit  inriguas  fertilis  hortus  aquas, 
45      aurea  turn  presses  pedibus  dedit  uva  liquores 
mixtaque  securo  est  sobria  lympha  rnero. 
rure  terunt  messes,  calidi  cum  sideris  aestu 

deponit  flavas  annua  terra  comas, 
rure  levis  verno  flores  apis  ingerit  alveo, 
50  conpleat  ut  dulci  sedula  melle  favos. 

agricola  adsiduo  primum  satiatus  aratro 
cantavit  certo  rustica  verba  pede 

43.    turn  consita  AG  tunc  consita  V  tunc  insita  w. 


glans  alat,  et  prisco  more  bibantur 
aquae,   glans  ah/it  veteres. 

41.  Ovid.  A)n.  3,  10,  13  :  prima 
iugis  tauros  supponere  colla  coegtt 
et  veterem  cu>-7'0  deiite  revellit 
tuDniDH.  —  illi  :  for  the  elision 
cf.  Intr.  §  42. 

44.  inriguas:  in  the  active  sense, 
as  in  Ovid,  A7)i.  2,  16.  2  :  inriguis 
ora  salubris  aqiiis. 

46.  securo :  another  poetical 
active  instead  of  the  ordinary  pas- 
sive use  ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  6,  715: 
securos  latices  et  longa  obliina 
potant. 

47.  rure  :  abl.  without  a  prepo- 
sition for  the  more  usual  locative 
ruri.  —  terunt :  the  subject  is  in- 
definite =  agricolae.  —  sideris  :  ac- 
cording to  the  usage  of  the  Roman 
p>oets  Tibullus  can  scarcely  escape 
here  the  charge  of  ambiguity,  as 


sidiis  might  refer  either  to  the  sun, 
or  to  Sirius  ;  most  editors  refer  this 
passage  to  the  sun,  but  without 
any  very  good  reason  think  Hor- 
ace is  referring  to  the  dog  star  in 
Epod.  I,  27:  ante sidus  fervidum. 
So  Ovid,  Met.  i,  424,  aetherioque 
recens  exarsit  sidere  limus,  is 
quoted  as  referring  to  the  sun ; 
but  Tibullus,  I,  7.  21,  attributes  the 
same  result  to  Sirius  as  Vergil 
does  in  Aett.  3,  141  :  tum  steriles 
exurere  Sirius  agros. 

48.  annua  =  qitotatinis,  an  odd 
adverbial  use.  with  sucli  a  noun 
as  terra. — comas:  here  used  of 
the  grain  itself. 

49.  verno:  agreeing  with  alveo, 
but  used  in  the  adverbial  sense. 
—  alveo:  synizesis. 

52.  certo  .  .  .  pede:  'regular 
rhythm.' 


IS9 


I'  53j 


TIBVLLI 


et  satur  arenti  primum  est  modulatus  avena 

carmen,  ut  ornatos  diceret  ante  deos, 
55      agricola  et  minio  suffusus,  Bacche,  rubenti 

primus  inexperta  duxit  ab  arte  chores, 
huic  datus  a  pleno,  memorabile  munus,  ovili 

dux  pecoris  curtas  auxerat  hircus  opes, 
rure  puer  verno  primum  de  flore  coronam 
60  fecit  et  antiquis  inposuit  laribus. 

rure  etiam  teneris  curam  exhibitura  puellis 

molle  gerit  tergo  lucida  vellus  ovis. 
hinc  et  femineus  labor  est,  hinc  pensa  colusque, 

tusus  et  adposito  pollice  versat  opus : 

58.    curtas  auxerat  hircus  opes   IVaardenburg  yrcus  hauxerat  yrcus  oves  A 
hauserat  VG  hiitas  duxerat  hircus  oves  Heinsitts. 


53.  satur:  'after  eating  his  fill.'' 

—  avena:  for  a  similar  scene  cf. 
Verg.  Ec.  i,  1-2. 

54.  ornatos  :  with  wreaths. 

55.  minio :  originally,  doubt- 
less, made  of  the  lees  of  wine,  the 
most  convenient  substance  on  such 
occasions.  Cf.  Hor.  Ep.  2,  3,  277  : 
quae  canerent  agerentqiie  peruiicti 
faecibiis  or  a.  Later  a  prepared 
vermilion  was  used  for  botli  man 
and  god;  cf.  i,  i,  17.  From  this 
custom  masks  came  to  be  used  in 
the  dramatic  representations  origi- 
nating in  the  same  rustic  festivals. 

—  Bacche :  it  was  at  the  festivals 
of  Dionysus  that  the  Greek  drama 
began,  just  as  such  native  Italian 
dramatic  forms  as  the  Fescenninae 
and  Saturae  came  from  similar 
celebrations  in  Etruria. 

56  ab :  used  to  make  it  clear 
that  the  idea  is  one  of  source  here. 
Cf.  Prop.  2,  27,  II,  n. 

1 


57.  huic :  i.e.  agricolae,  in  rec- 
ognition of  his  skill  as  leader  of 
the  chorus. — ovili:  we  might 
have  expected  caprili ;  but  this 
word  seems  to  have  been  little 
used  and  ovile  elsewhere  does 
duty  for  both  sheep  and  goats ; 
cf.  Ovid,  Met.  13,  828 :  aliis 
in  ovilibus  Jiaedi.  Cf.  Bentley, 
Horace,Yo\.  2,  p.  33. 

58.  auxerat :  for  the  tense  cf. 
Prop.  I,  12,  II  ;■  2,  13,38,  n  ;  Ovid, 
Trist.  3,  1 1,  25  :  non  sum  ego  quod 
fueram. 

62.  lucida  :  an  unusual  adjective 
in  the  sense  of  '  white,'  indicating 
a  glistening  effect,  and  correspond- 
ing to  our  familiar  expression,  *  as 
white  as  snow.'  used  of  wool. 

63.  hinc  refers  to  the  wool. 

64.  pollice :  the  thumb  of  the 
right  hand,  while  the  left  hand 
holds  the  distaff;  Cat.  64.  313: 
tu7H    prono    in    pollice    iorquens 

60 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    II  [i,  80 

65       atque  aliqua  adsiduae  textrix  operata  Minervae 
cantat,  et  adplauso  tela  sonat  latere, 
ipse  quoque  inter  agros  interque  armenta  Cupido 

natus  et  indomitas  dicitur  inter  equas. 
illic  indocto  primum  se  exercuit  arcu  : 
70  hei  mihi,  quam  doctas  nunc  habet  ille  manus ! 

nee  pecudes,  velut  ante,  petit :  fixisse  puellas 

gestit  et  audaces  perdomuisse  viros. 
hie  iuveni  detraxit  opes,  hie  dicere  iussit 
limen  ad  iratae  verba  pudenda  senem  : 
75      hoc  duce  custodes  furtim  transgressa  iacentes 
ad  iuvenem  tenebris  sola  puella  venit 
et  pedibus  praetemptat  iter  suspensa  timore, 

explorat  caecas  cui  manus  ante  vias. 
ah  miseri,  quos  hie  graviter  deus  urget !  at  ille    ""^ 
80  felix,  cui  placidus  leniter  adflat  Amor. 

67.  quoque  inter  agros  A  quoque  inter  greges  V  interque  greges  G  apros 
R.  Klotz. 

libratjim    tereti   versatat  tiirbhie  67.    Cf.   Pervigiliton    Ven.    yj : 

fusum;  Ovid,    Met.   6,    22:    sive  ipse  Amor piier  Dionae  r2ire  natus 

levi  teretem  versabat poUice  fustiin.  dicitur.     Tibulius  is  fond  of  using 

65.  aliqua  :  i.e.  here  and  there  ipse  with  the  name  of  a  divinity ; 
one. — operata:     'engaged   in  the  cf.  e.g.  i,  3,  58;  2,  2,  5  ;   i,  8,  5. 
service   of ;   cf.  note  on  v.  9.  —  73.    The  perfect  tenses  express 
Minervae  :  the  patroness  of  weav-  customary  action. 

ing  ;  cf.  H.  &  T.  §  39.    This  is  best  74.    iratae  :  sc.  puellae. 

considered  ;/f;/ a  case  of  metonymy.  76.    iuvenem:  '  her  lover.' 

66.  latere :  used  collectively,  77.  pedibus  praetemptat  iter : 
referring  to  the  pieces  of  brick  by  '  her  way  on  tiptoe  feels' 
which  the  threads  of  the  warp  were  (Cranst. ). 

weighted   to   keep  them   taut,  and  78.    ante:  adverb, 

which  would  often  strike  together  80.    adflat :     cf.    2,   4,    57  :    ubi 

as  the  web  was  moved  back  and  indomitis  gregibus    Venus   adflat 

forth  for  the  passage  of  the  shuttle  ;  afnores. — Amor:   the   more   com- 

'  rings  the  web  beneath  the  driven  mon  name  of  this  god  in  Tibul- 

lay'  (Cranst.).  lus. 

ROM.  EL.  POKTS II  l6l 


I.  8i] 


TIBVLLI 


sancte,  veni  dapibus  festis,  sed  pone  sagittas 
et  procul  ardentes  hinc  precor  abde  faces, 
vos  celebrem  cantate  deum  pecoriqiie  vocate 
voce :  palam  pecori,  clam  sibi  quisque  vocet. 
85      aut  etiam  sibi  quisque  palam  :  nam  turba  iocosa 
obstrepit  et  Phrygio  tibia  curva  sono. 
ludite :  iam  Nox  iungit  equos,  currumque  sequuntur 

matris  lascivo  sidera  fulva  choro, 
postque  venit  tacitus  furvis  circumdatus  alls 
90  Somnus  et  incerto  Somnia  nigra  pede. 


81.  sancte:  cf.  Cat.  64,  95: 
sancte  puer,  air  is  hominum  qui 
gaudia  f/iisces.  —  veni :  followed 
by  the  dat.,  as  if  it  were  ades. 

83.  celebrem  :  '  to  whom  many 
resort ';  cf.  4,  4,  23  ;  Hor.  Car.  2, 
12.  20  :  Dianae  Celebris  die. 

86.  obstrepit :  i.e.  the  noise  is 
so  great  that  there  is  no  danger  of 
being  overheard. — tibia  curva: 
the  Phrygian  pipe  was  bent  only 
at  its  mouth,  where  it  terminated 
in  a  broadening  curve.  Cf.  Rich's 
Diet.  s.7>.  tibia.  6 ;  Howard  in 
Harv.  Stud.  10.  19.  As  it  was 
associated  with  the  worship  of 
Cybele,  the  playing  is  here  referred 
to  as  wild  and  noisy,  such  as  to 
drown  other  sounds.  Cf.  Cat.  63, 
22  :  tibicen  ubi  canit  Phryx  curvo 
grave  c alamo. 

87.  Nox  :  among  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  night  was  not  regarded  as 
a  negative  idea,  but  was  as  defi- 
nitely conceived  of  as  moving 
through  the  heavens  once  every 
twenty-four  hours  as  was  day.  So, 
as  the  sun  drove  his  chariot,  and 
the  moon  rode  backward  on    her 


steed,  the  personified  Night  is 
spoken  of  as  driving  over  the 
heavenly  course  a  chariot,  some- 
times with  two  horses,  as  in  Ver'g. 
Aeti.  5,  721  :  et  Nox  atra  poluin 
bigis  subvecta  tenebat ;  at  others, 
with  four  horses,  as  in  Tib.  3,  4, 
1 7  :  iam  Nox  aetheriuvi  nigris 
emensa  quadrigis. 

88.  matris :  the  idea  that  the 
stars  are  children  of  night  is  sev- 
eral times  expressed  by  the  Greek 
poets,  e.g.  Or  ph.  Hymn.  7.  3 : 
a(ni.pf.%  oipdvLOL,  Nijktos  <^tAu 
T€Kva  fjuXalvr]^ ;  but  of  the  Ro- 
mans Tibullus  alone  seems  to  have 
imitated  the  figure. 

89.  circumdatus  alls  :  Tibullus 
evidently  has  in  mind  the  con- 
ception of  the  god  of  sleep  most 
common  in  the  art  of  his  own  time, 
viz.  that  of  a  bearded  man  with  large 
wings  on  the  shoulders,  and  others 
on  the  head,  which  together  seem 
almost  to  envelop  the  rest  of  the 
figure.     Cf.  Baum.  Denk.,  p.  707. 

90.  Dreams  may  be  regarded 
as  the  children  of  Sleep.  —  nigra  • 
'gloom-wrapt'  (Cranst.). 


162 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


Us 


Dicamus  bona  verba  :  venit  Natalis  ad  aras  : 
quisquis  ades,  lingua,  vir  mulierque,  fave. 

urantur  pia  tura  focis,  urantur  odores 
quos  tener  e  terra  divite  mittit  Arabs. 

ipse  suos  Genius  adsit  visurus  honores, 

2.    5.    Genius  adsit  0  adsit  Genius  w. 


2,  2 

To  his  friend  Cornutus,  whose 
first  birtliday  since  his  marriage  is 
being  celebrated,  Tibullus  sends 
this  dainty  poem,  with  good  wishes 
appropriate  to  the  occasion.  Cor- 
nutus is.  perhaps,  the  M.  Caecilius 
Cornutus  wlio  became  a  member 
of  the  Arval  College  about  20  B.C., 
and  may  be  identical  with  the 
Cerinthus  of  Bk.  4,  the  latter  name 
being  then  a  poetic  pseudonym. 
His  bride  in  that  case  is  Sulpicia. 
Cf.  Intr.  §  26;  Bell.  U.,  pp.  292, 
297  sqq. 

i-io  :  '  While  all  keep  a  propi- 
tious silence,  let  acceptable  offer- 
ings be  made  to  your  Genius,  and 
let  him  graciously  draw  nigh  to 
enjoy  your  worship  and  listen  to 
your  petitions.  Lo  !  Our  prayer 
is  granted.  Make  known  your  re- 
quest. 11-22:  My  guess  is  that 
you  will  ask  for  the  unchanging 
love  of  your  beloved  wife,  which  is 
better  than  all  other  earthly  wealth. 
Your  wish  is  fulfilled.  Now  let 
Amor  seal  the  bond,  never  to  be 
broken,  and  thus,  in  your  old  age, 


may  a  numerous  progeny  gladden 
the  hearts  of  their  grandparents.' 

1.  bona:  •  of  good  omen';  cf. 
Ovid,  Fast.  2,  638  :  snffuso  per 
bona  verba  niero.  —  Natalis  = 
Genius  ;  cf.  4,  5,  19  :  «/  //<r,  Natalis, 
qj(oniain  dens  omnia  sentis,  adnite; 
Ovid,  Trist.  5,  5,  13:  optime 
Natalis  .  .  .  opto  candidtis  hue 
venias.  —  ad  :  '  before.' 

2.  fave:  cf.  2,  i,  i  ;  Ovid, 
Trist.  5,  5.  5  :  lingua  favens  adsit, 
.  .  .  quae,  puto,  dedidicit  ia>n  bona 
verba  loqui. 

3.  pia:  adverbial,  Muly.' 

4.  tener  :  '  effeminate  ' ;  cf. 
Verg.  Georg.  i,  57:  India  mittit 
ebitr,  molles  sua  tura  Sabaei ;  by 
the  Romans  this  character  was 
attributed  to  the  people  of  the 
East  (not  very  logically)  because 
they  produced  the  things  that  wo- 
men and  fops  admired.  —  terra  . 
divite :  Arabia  Felix,  the  country  x'^-^ 
of  the  Sabaeans  ;  cf.  4,  2,  18. 

5.  Genius:  cf.  i,  7,  49,  n.  For 
the  quantity  cf.  Intr.  §43.  —  vi- 
surus expresses  pure  purpose. — 
honores :  such  as  have  been  al- 
ready described,  i,  7,  49  sqq.,  and 


163 


2,  6] 


TIBVLLI 


cui  decorent  sanctas  mollia  serta  comas, 
illius  puro  destillent  tempora  nardo, 

atque  satur  libo  sit  madeatque  mero, 
adnuat  et,  Cornute,  tibi,  quodcumque  rogabis. 
lo  en  age,  quid  cessas  ?  adnuit  ille  :  roga. 

auguror,  uxoris  fidos  optabis  amores : 

iam  reor  hoc  ipsos  edidicisse  deos. 
nee  tibi  malueris,  totum  quaecumque  per  orbem 

fortis  arat  valido  rusticus  arva  bove, 
IS      nee  tibi,  gemmarum  quidquid  felicibus  Indis 

nascitur,  eoi  qua  maris  unda  rubet. 
vota  cadunt :  utinam  strepitantibus  advolet  alis 

flavaque  coniugio  vincula  portet  Amor, 
vincula,  quae  maneant  semper,  dum  tarda  senectus 

17.   utinam  0  viden  ut   Guyetus  ut  iam  Baehrens. 


are  here  referred  to  in  the  follow- 
ing verses. 

7.  puro :  the  costly  nard  oil 
of  Arabia  was  commonly  diluted, 
but  is  to  be  used  '  unmixed '  in  the 
worship  of  the  Genius. 

8.  libo:  cf.  I,  7,  54. —  madeat : 
not  in  the  sense  of  2,  i.  29;  but 
the  word  corresponds  for  potables 
to  the  use  oi  satur  for  edibles. 

12.  edidicisse:  because  they 
have  heard  this  same  prayer  so 
often. 

14.  fortis  :  '  honest  '  ;  cf. 
French  brave;  and  the  obsolete 
English  vague  use  of  "  brave  " :  e.g. 
"It  being  a  brave  day,  I  walked 
to  Whitehall"  (Pepys). 

15.  gemmarum:  'pearls';  cf. 
4,  2,  19;  Prop.  I,  14,  12. 

16.  eoi :  the  Indian  Ocean  is 
vaguely  referred   to,  although    its 


richnessin  abundanceof  pearls  was 
doubtless  exaggerated  in  the  im- 
agination of  classical  writers  ;  cf. 
Curtius,  8, 9,  19  :  gemmas  margari- 
tasque  mare  litoribus  infiitidit.  — 
rubet :  the  characteristic  hues  of 
the  Red  Sea  proper  are  extended 
to  the  whole  Erythraean  Sea,  or 
Indian  Ocean  ;  they  were  largely 
due  to  coral  formations ;  cf.  4,  2, 
19. 

17.  cadunt:  'are  fulfilled';  cf. 
Eng  "  fall  to  the  lot  of."  —  strepi- 
tantibus :  'rustling.' 

18.  flava :  'flame-colored,'  the 
color  of  the  bridal  veil,  in  token 
of  the  kindling  ardor  of  love's 
passion.  Cf  Cat.  61,  121  :  iollite, 
o  piieri,  faces:  flamtiieuni  video 
7'etiirc  —  vincula :  the  god  is  not 
besought  to  grant  prayers  already 
answered,    but     to     confirm     the 


164 


ELEGIARVM    LlBER   11 


ts.  2 


20 


inducat  rugas  inficiatque  comas, 
hie  veniat  Natalis  avis  prolemque  rainistret, 
ludat  et  ante  tuos  turba  novella  pedes. 


5 


c^ 


Phoebe,  fave  :  novus  ingreditur  tua  templa  sacerdos  : 
hue  age  cum  cithara  carminibusque  veni. 

21.  hie  A  hec  Vhaec  G  hac  Heinsius  sic  Belling.     Natalis  0  genialis  Raeh- 
rens.     avis  0  avi  Heinsius.     prolemque  0  prolesque  Baehrens.     22.  et  0  ut  a>. 


answer  by  personally  sealing  the 
bond  of  passionate  marital  affec- 
tion. 

21.  hie  =  talis,  i.e.  may  he  con- 
tinue to  come  attended  by  Amor, 
as   the    years   pass.  —  prolemque: 


the  noun  is  collective.     Cf.   i,  7 


55.       For 
copula,  cf. 


the    position 
I,  10,  51,  n. 

2,  5 


of    the 


Written  in  honor  of  the  instal- 
lation of  iVIessalla's  elder  son,  M. 
Valerius  Corvinus  Messalla  Mes- 
salinus,  as  a  member  of  the  sacred 
college  of  Sibylline  priests  {qicin- 
decimviri  sacris  faciuiuiis  et  sibyl- 
linis  libris  inspiciendis').  For 
further  information  about  this 
man  cf.  Tac.  Ann.  3,  34 ;  i,  8; 
Teuffel,  §  267,  6. 

The  number  of  priests,  origi- 
nally two,  was  later  increased  to 
ten.  and,  probably  in  Sulla's  time, 
to  fifteen.  Under  the  Caesars  the 
number  was  indefinitely  enlarged, 
though  the  appellation  Qiiinde- 
ci)nviri  was  not  again  changed. 
The  addition  of  Messalinus  at  this 


time  brought  the  number  up  to 
twenty-one.  The  honor  of  becom- 
ing a  member  of  this  priestly  col- 
lege was  much  sought  by  noble 
Roman  youth.  The  Valerian ^^wj 
prided  itself  on  its  prominence  in 
the  Roman  religion ;  cf.  Preller^, 
Vol.  2,  p.  86.  In  the  inscription 
V  c^  A  <**«x^'^t;ommemorating  the  Secular  Games 
in  17  B.C.  {Eph.  Epig.  1891,  pp. 
222,  274)  the  name  of  Messalinus 
occurs  last  in  the  list  of  members 
of  the  college.  Cf.  Lanciani,  Pa- 
gan and  Christian  Rome,  Appen- 
dix. 

For  the  legend  concerning  the 
origin  of  the  Sibylline  books,  cf. 
Cell.  I,  19;  Preller\  Vol.  i,  pp. 
299  sqq. ;  Diels,  Die  SibyUinische 
Blatter.  For  their  subsequent 
history,  cf.  Lanciani  in  Atlantic 
Monthly,  Vol.  69,  p.  150  (cf.  his 
Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  p. 
75)  ;  Preller',  Vol.  i,  pp.  306-312, 
passim;  Lact.  Itist.  i.  6;  and 
the  bibliography  in  M.  S.  Terry's 
The  Sibylline  Oracles.  Momm-| 
sen  fixes  the  date  of  this  poem  as  J 
i^j.c.  (cf.  Eph.  Epig.  8,  2,  241). 

16; 


5'  3] 


TIBVLLI 


nunc  te  vocales  inpellere  pollice  chordas, 
nunc  precor  ad  laudes  flectere  verba  meas. 

5.    4.    meas  0  tuas  w  mea  Lackmajin  novas  Vahlen. 


1-18:  'Apollo,  accept  the  new 
priest  who  to-day  enters  thy  shrine, 
and  show  thine  approval  by  thy 
presence,  decked  in  festal  attire. 
19-66 :  It  was  this  Sibyl,  who  to 
Aeneas,  on  his  arrival  in  Italy, 
when  naught  but  rural  simplicity 
reigned  wliere  now  is  great  Rome, 
prophesied  the  city's  future  great- 
ness and  his  own  deification. 
67-82 :  All  these  things  are  ac- 
complished ;  likewise  the  greater 
prodigies  prophesied  by  other 
Sibyls.  But,  Apollo,  let  dreadful 
portents  now  cease ;  and  give  us 
a  favorable  omen  for  the  future. 
83-104:  If  the  omen  is  propi- 
tious, let  rustic  merriment  abound, 
and  all  its  simple  and  uncon- 
strained joys,  even  to  the  petty 
quarrel  of  the  "  lover  and  his  lass." 
105-122:  But  perish  Cupid's 
darts!  And  may  my  Nemesis 
spare  me  till  the  joyous  day  when 
I  can  sing  the  praises  of  Messali- 
nus  celebrating  a  proud  triumph 
over  conquered  cities!'  (For  a 
more  artificial  analysis,  cf.  FAPA., 
Vol.  26  (1895),  p.'vii.) 

I .  Phoebe :  Apollo  apparently  is 
addressed  under  the  form  in  which 
he  appeared  in  the  famous  statue 
by  Scopas,  the  Apollo Citharoedus, 
imported  by  Augustus  from  Rham- 
nus  expressly  for  the  temple  of 
Apollo  which  he  built  on  the 
Palatine  (cf.  vv.  2,  5,  7,  8).     Rep- 


resentations of  this  statue  are 
found  on  coins  of  Augustus,  and 
a  very  similar  type  on  some  of 
Nero,  to  which  corresponds  the 
well-known  statue  in  the  Vatican, 
found  at  Tivoli.  Cf.  3,  4,  23-40; 
Prop.  2,  31,  15-16;  Ovid,  Met. 
II,  165;  Fast.  2,  106;  Am.  1,8, 
59;  Baum.  Detik.^WoX.  i,  p.  99; 
von  Sybel,  p.  236.  Friedlander, 
Das  Kgl.  M'lhiz  Kabiiiet,  No. 
992;  k.  P.  H.  in  A/A.,  Vol. 
5  (i90i),p.  7.  —  templa  :  although 
we  have  no  record  of  the  transfer 
of  the  Sibylline  books  to  the 
Palatine  temple  of  Apollo  earlier 
than  12  B.C.  (Suet.  Oct.  31),  it  is 
probable  that  they  were  deposited 
there  much  earlier;  certainly  the 
only  appropriate  place  accordant 
with  the  picture  here  presented 
would  be  that  temple.  Built  by 
Augustus  in  honor  of  his  special 
protecting  deity  at  the  battle  of 
Actium,  it  was  dedicated  in  B.C. 
28,  and  with  its  surrounding  porti- 
coes and  adjacent  library  was  one 
of  the  most  noted  specimens  of 
temple  magnificence.  Cf.  Prop, 
4.  6;  2,  31  ;  Hon  Ca?-.  1,31  ;  Suet. 
Oct.  29;  Preller^,  Vol.  i,  pp.  309- 
310;  Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome,  pp. 
109-115.  The  books  were  de- 
posited in  the  basis  on  which 
stood  the  statue. 

3.   te :    emphatic.       Apollo    is 
besought   himself  to    supply    the 


166 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    II 


[5-  15 


10 


15 


ipse  triumphali  devinctus  tempora  lauro, 

dum  cumulant  aras,  ad  tua  sacra  veni. 
sed  nitidus  pulcherque  veni :  nunc  indue  vestem 

sepositam,  longas  nunc  bene  pecte  comas, 
qualem  te  memorant  Saturno  rege  fugato 

victori  laudes  concinuisse  lovi. 
tu  procul  eventura  vides,  tibi  deditus  augur 

scit  bene  quid  fati  provida  cantet  avis, 
tuque  regis  sortes,  per  te  praesentit  aruspex, 

lubrica  signavit  cum  deus  exta  notis : 
te  duce  Romanes  numquam  frustrata  Sibylla, 


poet  with  the  prelude  to  the  main 
part  of  the  song  sung  by  the  poet 
{jiicas),  cf.  3,  4,  39-42  :  /lanc 
primuin  veniens plectro  moditlatiis 
eburno  feliccs  cautiis  ore  sonatite 
dedit:  sed postqnam  fiieratit  digit i 
cum  voce  locuti,  edidit  liaec  didci 
tristia  verba  7iiodo ;  cf.  Bell.  U., 
p.  163,  Anm.  —  vocales  . . .  chordas  : 
'•  eloquent  strains.'  —  inpellere  : 
the  inf.  with  precor  is  found  no- 
where else  in  Tibullus  except  here 
(and  in  the  next  verse  — flectere') 
though  it  occasionally  occurs  in 
Ovid. 

4.  flectere  verba  :  'sing  in  well- 
modulated  tones.' 

5.  triumphali :  Apollo  would 
appropriately  wear  the  emblems 
of  his  own  triumphs  (cf.  vv.  9- 
10,  n.)  when  assisting  in  honor- 
ing the  son  of  Messalla.  For  the 
father's  triumph,  cf.  i.  7;  for  the 
son's,  yet  to  come,  cf.  vv.  115  sqq. 
—  devinctus:  cf.  v.  117. 

7.  sed  .  .  .  veni :  '  not  only 
come,  .but  come  in  festal  attire'; 


cf.  1 , 3, 63,  n.  —  nitidus  pulcherque : 
'  in  all  thy  radiant  beauty.' 

8.  sepositam :  kept  laid  aside 
for  special  occasions,  and  so  = 
'  sumptuous.'  —  longas  .  .  .  comas  : 
cf.  Ovid,  Am.  i,  1,  11. 

9-10 :  explanatory  of  tri- 
ti?npJiali  in  v.  5  ;  the  reference  is 
to  Apollo's  triumphant  strains  on 
the  occasion  of  Juppiter's  van- 
quishing the  Titans.  Cf.  Sen. 
AgatH.  332;  Verg.  Aeii.  8,  319. 

II.  tu :  Apollo's  personal  con- 
trol is  affirmed  over  each  of  the 
four  well-known  methods  of  seek- 
ing prophetic  knowledge:  (i)  the 
characteristic  Roman  augury  by 
the  flight  of  birds ;  (2)  sortes, 
'lots';  cf.  r,  3,  II  ;  (3)  the 
Etruscan  method  of  divination  by 
examining  the  entrails  of  newly 
slain  animals ;  (4)  the  Sibylline 
books. 

15.  Sibylla:  the  Cumaean 
Sibyl,  tlie  prophetess  from  whom, 
according  to  the  tradition,  came 
the  Sibylline  books  themselves. 


167 


5.  i6] 


TIBVLLI 


20 


25 


abdita  quae  senis  fata  canit  pedibus. 
Phoebe,  sacras  Messalinum  sine  tangere  chartas 

vatis,  et  ipse  precor  quid  canat  ilia  doce. 
haec  dedit  Aeneae  sortes,  postquam  ille  parentem 

dicitur  et  raptos  sustinuisse  lares, 
nee  fore  credebat  Romam,  cum  maestus  ab  alto 

Ilion  ardentes  respiceretque  decs. 
Romulus  aeternae  nondum  firmaverat  urbis 

moenia,  consorti  non  habitanda  Remo, 
sed  tum  pascebant  herbosa  Palatia  vaccae 

et  stabant  humiles  in  lovis  arce  casae. 
lacte  madens  illic  suberat  Pan  ilicis  umbrae 

et  facta  agresti  lignea  falce  Pales, 
pendebatque  vagi  pastoris  in  arbore  votum, 

garrula  silvestri  fistula  sacra  deo, 
fistula,  cui  semper  decrescit  arundinis  ordo : 


116.  senis  .  .  .  pedibus  :  dactylic 
hexameters  in  which  the  oracles 
were  expressed. 

18.    ilia  =  Sibylla  vates. 
20.    Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  i,  378. 

22.  ardentes :  '  in  flames,'  ap- 
plies to  both  Ilio7i  and  deos  {i.e. 
the  images  of  the  gods). 

23.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  i,  278: 
his  ego  nee  metas  rerion  nee  tein- 
pora  pono,  imperiuni  sine  fine 
dedi.  —  aeternae  .  .  .  urbis  :  '  the 
eternal  city'  is  no  modern  name  for 
Rome  :  cf.  F.  G.  Moore  in  TAPA., 
Vol.25  (1894),  pp.  34-60.  —  firma- 
verat :  cf.  Prop.  3,  9,  50.  With 
the  description  of  Rome's  site  in 
prehistoric  times  (a  favorite  sub- 
ject for  Roman  poets)  cf.  Prop. 
4, 1  ;  Verg.  Aen.  8,313-368  ;  Ovid, 


Fast.    1,  509  sqq.,  243;  A.  A.  3, 
119. 

27.  Cf.  I,  I,  36. — ^Pan:  cor- 
responding in  many  ways  to  the 
Italian    Faunus.     Cf.    Hor.    Car. 

I,  17- 

28.  Cf.    I.  I,  18 ;   I,  10,  20. 

29.  votum :  a  votive  offering, 
the  fis/ula  of  v.  30. 

30.  silvestri  .  .  .  deo  =  Silva- 
nus,  who  was  identified  with  Pan. 

31.  fistula:  the  pandean  pipe 
composed  of  several  (usually  7-9) 
reeds  of  carefully  graded  lengths,  \ 
a  prototype  of  the  organ,  common  ) 
among  shepherds.  Cf.  Ovid, 
A/eL  2,  682.  For  its  Greek 
name  (syrinx)  and  origin,  cf 
Ovid,  Mel.  i.  705-712.  For  its 
form  see  Rich's  /?icL  s.v.  arundo. 


168 


ELliCIAKVM    LIBER   II 


[5.  42 


nam  calamus  cera  iungitur  usque  minor. 
at  qua  Velabri  regio  patet,  ire  solebat 

exiguus  pulsa  per  vada  linter  aqua. 
35      ilia  saepe  gregis  diti  placitura  magistro 

ad  iuvenem  festa  est  vecta  puella  die, 
cum  qua  fecundi  fedierunt  munera  ruris, 

caseus  et  niveae  candidus  agnus  ovis. 
'inpiger  Aenea,  volitantis  frater  Amoris, 
40  Troica  qui  profugis  sacra  vehis  ratibus, 

iam  tibi  Laurentes  adsignat  luppiter  agros, 

iam  vocat  errantes  hospita  terra  lares. 


It  is  described  by  Ovid,  Met.  8, 
189-195.  Cf.  Verg.  Ec.  2,  36: 
disparibiis  septem  co}ipacta  ci- 
cut  is  fistula ;  Hor.  G?r.  4,  12,  10. 

32.  usque  minor:  'constantly 
decreasing.' 

33.  at :  cf.  I,  3, 63,  n. — Velabri: 
the  low,  swampy  valley  between 
the  Capitoline,  Palatine,  and  Aven- 
tine  hills,  bordering  on  the  Tiber, 
which  was  continually  overflowing 
into  it.  One  of  the  first  great 
engineering  enterprises  at  Rome 
was  the  draining  of  this  valley,  in- 
cluding the  Forum  Romanum  site, 
farther  back  from  the  river.  This 
was  accomplished  by  an  early 
sewer  along  the  general  line  of  the 
present  Cloaca  Maxima,  which 
still  performs  its  ancient  functions 
and  can  be  inspected  at  several 
points.  See  Lanciani,  Ancient 
Rome,  p.  54;  cf.  Prop.  4,  9,  5-6: 
qua  Velabra  sua  stas^nabant  flu- 
mine  qiiaqiie  nanta  per  Jirbanas 
velificabat  aquas  ;  Ovid,  East.  6, 
405-406. 


34.  pulsa  .    .    .   aqua:   cf.  Cat. 

64,  58  :  iuvenis  .  .  .  pellit  vada 
remis ;  Prop.  4,  2,  8  :  remorum 
auditos  per  vada  pulsa  sonos. 

35.  ilia:  i.e.  aqua  {=  via.)  — 
placitura  :     '  to    delight ' ;    cf.    R. 

1115.  (3)- 

36.  iuvenem  =  g>'^gis  .  ■  .  ma- 
gistro of  the  preceding  verse.  — 
festa  ...  die  :  probably  the  Pa- 
lilia  (April  21) ;  cf  v.  87. 

39.  The  speech  cf  the  Sibyl 
here  takes  up  the  thread  of 
thought  broken  off  at  v.  20. — 
frater  Amoris :  Venus  was  the 
mother  of  Aeneas  by  Anchises, 
and  of  Cupid  by  Ares  (as  is  usu- 
ally assumed)  ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  i, 
667  :  frater  ut  Aeneas. 

40.  Troica  .  .  .  sacra :  the 
Penates;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  i,  68: 
portans  victosque  Penates. 

41.  Aeneas  landed  near  Lau- 
rentum,  the  ancient  city  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Tiber,  where  he 
was  hospitably  received  by  Lati- 
nus. 


169 


5.  43] 


TIBVLLI 


illic  sanctus  eris,  cum  te  veneranda  Numici 
unda  deum  caelo  miserit  indigetem. 
45      ecce  super  fessas  volitat  Victoria  puppes ; 
tandem  ad  Troianos  diva  superba  venit 
ecce  mihi  lucent  Rutulis  incendia  castris : 

iam  tibi  praedico,  barbare  Turne,  necem. 
ante  oculos  Laurens  castrum  murusque  Lavinist 
50  Albaque  ab  Ascanio  condita  longa  duce.  * 

te  quoque  iam  video,  Marti  placitura  sacerdos 
Ilia,  Vestales  deseruisse  focos. 


43-44 :  The  Numicius  (or  Nu- 
micus)  was  the  little  stream  (per- 
haps the  modern  Rio  Torto)  near 
Lavinium,  on  whose  banks  Ae- 
neas was  victorious  over  the  Rutuli 
and  their  allies.  The  legend  was 
that  he  immediately  thereafter 
disappeared  in  its  waters,  and  was 
then  deified  as  Juppiter  Indiges,  as 
Romukis  afterwards  similarly  be- 
came Quirinus.  The  local  genii 
of  places  seem  to  have  been  rec- 
ognized originally  as  their  Indi- 
getes  {iiidu  +  gigno).  So  the 
Pater  Indiges  or  Deus  Indiges  of 
this  spot  became  identified  with 
Aeneas.  Cf.  Preller^,  pp.  91-94. 
For  the  story  cf  Ovid,  Afet.  14, 
581-608;  Liv.  I,  2.  6.  Vergil's 
version  of  the  legend  is  different. 

44.  caelo:  Madv.  §251.  Cf. 
Ytrg.Aeii.  9.785  :  tot  /niserit  Oreo. 

45.  fessas  :  cf  Aeti.  i,  168  :  fes- 
sas non  vineula  na^'es  ulla  tenent. 
—  Victoria:  referring  to  the  con- 
quest of  the  Rutuli.  The  goddess 
Victoria  (Gr.  Nike)  was  a  favorite 
at  Rome,  and  often  represented  in 


art.  The  most  celebrated  of  all 
her  statues  was  the  Nike  of  Samo- 
thrace,  which  stood  on  a  ship's 
bow.  Perhaps  this  familiar  con- 
ception suggests  to  the  poet  this 
expression,  as  if  the  goddess  were 
now  at  length  hovering  above  the 
ship  of  Aeneas  and  about  to  alight 
on  the  prow  and  guide  it  into  a 
haven  of  victory.  Cf.  Baum. 
Denk.,  pp.  1019-1023. 

48.  Turnus,  his  great  enemy, 
was  finally  overcome  by  Aeneas  in 
mortal  combat. 

49.  The  first  home  of  the  Tro- 
jan exiles  in  Italy  was  a  perma- 
nent camp  near  Laurentum  ;  then 
Aeneas  founded  Lavinium  ;  Alba 
Longa  was  built  years  later  by 
Ascanius. 

52.  Ilia :  mother  of  Romulus 
and  Remus  by  Mars  ;  daughter  of 
Aeneas  and  Lavinia  according  to 
the  older  tradition  ;  later,  in  order 
to  weave  in  the  Alban  legends,  said 
to  be  the  daughter  of  Numitor.  the 
Alban  king,  and,  as  such,  a  vestal 
virgin,  usually  called  Rea  Silvia. 


170 


v»_ 


ELEGIARVM    I.IBER   II 


[5.  63 


concubitusque  tuos  furtim  vittasque  iacentes 
et  cupidi  ad  ripas  arma  relicta  dei. 
55      carpite  nunc,  tauri,  de  septem  montibus  herbas, 
dum  licet :  hie  magnae  iam  locus  urbis  erit. 
Roma,  tuum  nomen  terris  fatale  regendis, 

qua  sua  de  caelo  prospicit  arva  Ceres, 
quaque  patent  ortus  et  qua  fluitantibus  undis 
60  Solis  anhelantes  abluit  amnis  equos. 

Troia  quidem  turn  se  mirabitur  et  sibi  dicet 

vos  bene  tarn  longa  consuluisse  via. 
vera  cano :  sic  usque  sacras  innoxia  laurus 


53.  furtim  modifies  the  im- 
plied participle  agreeing  with  co}i- 
cnbitiis  (Heyne  suggests /i^/'rt:;;/^;^-). 
The  motive  was  a  favorite  one  in 
Roman  art,  and  has  survived  in 
various  mural  paintings  and  bas- 
reliefs.  See  Preller^,  Vol.  2,  p. 
347  ;  Friedrichs-Wolters,  Antike 
Bildwerke,]^o.  2141 ;  B^inm. Deuk., 
p.  886 ;  Ovid,  Fast.  3,  1 1  sqq. 

55.  septem  montibus :  rather  a 
conventional  than  an  exact  de- 
scription of  the  site  of  Rome. 
The  seven  principal  elevations 
now  reckoned  in  the  list  do  not 
coincide  with  those  of  the  origi- 
nal "Septimontium,"  some  of 
which  were  "hills"  scarcely  now 
distinguishable  as  such.  Cf. 
Richter-,  Topog.  7>nn  Rom.,  pp. 
36-38  ;  Enc.  Brit..  Vol.  23,  p.  589  ; 
Sandys,  p.  35;  Plainer,  pp.  39  sqq. 

56.  iam  :  cf.  i.  i.  70.  n. 

57.  nomen :  whatever  be  its 
true  origin,  the  name  Roma  had 
certainly  long  before  this  become 
identified  in  the  minds  of  Greek 


and  Roman  writers  with  the  Greek 
'FiofjLT]  (= 'strength  \),  and  was 
therefore  in  itseU /ata/e,  'porten- 
tous.'—  terris  .  .  .  regendis  :  cf. 
Madv.  §  415. 

58.  Cf.  Ovid,  Fast,  i,  85-86; 
Tuppiter  arce  sua  tot  urn  cum  spec- 
tet  ill  orbem,  nil  nisi  Ro?/iannm, 
quod  tueatnr,  habet. 

59.  quaque  .  .  .  et  qua:  'both 
where  .  .  .  and  where.' 

60.  amnis  =  Oceaiiiis,  which, 
according  to  the  generally  accepted 
notion,  was  a  stream  whose 
current  never  ceased  to  move 
around  the  earth.  Cf.  3,  4.  17-18  : 
iain  No.v  aether imn  nigris  emeiisa 
qiiadrigis  ninudum  caendeo  la- 
verat  amne  rotas:  Horn.  //.  14, 
245.  The  river  motion  is  implied 
also  in  Cat.  66,  69-70. 

61.  se:  i.e.  at  her  new  and 
greater  self,  reproduced  in  mightier 
Rome. 

63.  vera  cano :  sic :  to  make 
the  form  of  the  adjuration  com- 
plete an  ut  should  be  supplied  at 


171 


5.  64] 


TIBVLLl 


vescar,  et  aeternum  sit  mihi  virginitas.' 
65      haec  cecinit  vates  et  te  sibi,  Phoebe,  vocavit, 

iactavit  fusas  et  caput  ante  comas, 
quidquid  Amalthea,  quidquid  Marpesia  dixit 

Herophile,  Phyto  Graia  quod  admonuit, 
quasque  Aniena  sacras  Tiburs  per  flumina  sortes 

68.  Phyto  Huschke  Phebo  A  Phoebo  V  Phoeto  Lachmann.  Graia  Lnch- 
mann  grata  0-  quod  admonuit  0  grataque  quod  monuit  m.  69.  quasque  w 
quodque  AV  quaeque  Belling. 


the  beginning  to  correspond  with 
the  sic.  Cf.  Ter.  Haul.  463  ;  Prop. 
I,  18,  II.  But  when  the  first  part 
of  the  expression  is  of  an  imper- 
ative or  optative  nature,  sic  is 
equivalent  to  si  with  that  verb 
idea  repeated  in  a  different  form  ; 
e.g.  in  v.  121  :  ad  nice :  sic  tibi 
stnt  =  si  adiiues,  tibi  sint.  Such 
expressions  are  very  common  in 
the  poets  of  this  period.  Cf.  2,  6, 
30;  Prop.  3,  15,  I  ;  Verg.  Ec.  9, 
30;  Hor.  Car.  i,  3,  i  ;  Ovid,  Her. 
3,  135.  The  fundamental  idea 
of  the  Roman  religion  was  that 
of  a  bargain  between  men  and  the 
gods.  A  trace  of  it  still  survives 
in  our  own  form  of  oath,  "  So  help 
rne.God." — innoxia  :  in  thT^as- 
sive  sense.  Cf.  Lucr.  6,  394  :  volvi- 
tur  in  Jia)n»iis  innox  ins.  —  laurus  : 
Tibullus  uses  this  noun  in  the 
ace.  pi.  twice  elsewhere,  but  each 
time  in  the  2d  declension  form  (v. 
117  and  I,  7,  7). 

64.   vescar,  like  the   other   de- 

^ponent  verbs  commonly  used  with 

the   ablative,    sometimes    governs 

jthe  accusative    in  early  Latin,  and 

'this   is   occasionally    imitated    by 

172 


writers  in  all  periods.  Cf.  Tac. 
Agr.  28.  The  prophets  chewed 
the  laurel  leaves^  sacredTcrSpollo", 
for  the  sake  of  inspiration. 

66.  caput  ante:  i.e.  'before 
her  forehead.' 

67.  Amalthea :  (quantity  the 
same  in  Ovid,  Fast.  5,  115)  best 
understood  as  the  Cumaean  Sibyl 
herself,  following  whom  three 
other  celebrated  Sibyls  are  men- 
tioned. Certainly  the  name  of 
the  woman  who  brought  the  Sibyl- 
line books  to  Tarquin  was  Amal- 
thea. Cf.  Lact.  I,  6;  Serv.  on 
Verg.  Aen.  6,  72.  — Marpesia  .  .  . 
Herophile  :  the  Erythraean  Sibyl, 
who  dwelt  at  Marpesus,  on  Mt. 
Ida,  near  Troy. 

68.  Phyto  Graia:  the  Sibyl  of 
Samos,  called  Greek  by  contrast 
with  the  last  mentioned. 

69.  Tiburs :  the  famous  Sibyl 
of  Tibur,  whose  name  was  Albu- 
nea ;  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  7,  12. 
The  little  church  of  S.  Giorgio  at 
Tivoli,  perched  on  the  edge  of  the 
precipice  above  the  Anio  ravine, 
is  thought  to  be  the  temple  of 
Albunea. 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    11 


[5.  8i 


70  portarit  sicco  pertuleritque  sinu 

(hae  fore  dixerunt  belli  mala  signa  cometen, 

multus  Lit  in  terras  deplueretque  lapis  : 
atque  tubas  atque  arma  ferunt  strepitantia  caelo 
audita  et  lucos  praecinuisse  fugam, 
75      ipsum  etiam  Solem  defectum  lumine  vidit 
iungere  pallentes  nubilus  annus  equos 
et  simulacra  deum  lacrimas  fudisse  tepentes 

fataque  vocales  praemonuisse  boves), 
haec  fuerunt  olim  :  sed  tu  iam  mitis,  Apollo, 
80  prodigia  indomitis  merge  sub  aequoribus, 

et  succensa  sacris  crepitet  bene  laurea  flammis, 

70.  portarit  0  portarat  Belling,  pertuleritque  o)  perlueritque  0  pertulerat- 
que  Belling.  71.  hae  <o  hec  AV.  72.  ut  G  et  AV.  deplueretcjue  to  deplue- 
ritque  AG  depuleritque  V.       79.    fuerunt  or  fuerint  <o  fuerant  0. 


70.  portarit :  note  the  change 
to  the  indirect  question.  —  sicco  : 
Albunea  was  said  to  carry  her 
prophecies  through  the  waters  of 
the  Anio,  and  yet  keep  them  dry. 

71.  The  list  of  portents  men- 
tioned here  seems  to  refer  espe- 
cially to  those  connected  with  the 
assassination  of  Julius  Caesar.  Cf. 
Verg.  Georg.  i,  463-492  ;  Ovid, 
Met.  15,  783  sqq.  ;  Luc.  i,  524 
sqq. ;  Pliny,  N.  H.  2.  98. 

72.  Note  position  of  -que  (after 
5th  word).  Cf  vv.  22,  70,  86,  90; 
employing  this  favorite  position 
at  the  end  of  the  fifth  foot  be- 
comes a  mannerism  in  Tibullus. 
Cf.  Postgate,  Set.,  p.  xxix. 

76.  This  year  of  feebler  power 
of  the  sun,  mentioned  also  by 
Pliny  and  Plutarch,  seems  to  be 
attributable  to  sun  spots.     Similar 


phenomena  have  been  observed  in 
other  and  more  recent  years  ;  cf. 
the  Lemaire  edition  of  Pliny,  Vol. 
I,  p.  306. 

78.  vocales:  speaking  with  a 
human  voice. 

79.  fuerunt :  cf.  L.  857. 

80.  Even  to-day  the  power  of 
the  sea  to  receive  and  render 
harmless  and  pure  all  the  filth  of 
the  world  remains  a  wonder.  The 
poet  here  is  applying  this  old 
truth  to  more  abstract  pollutions. 
Cf.  4,  4.  7-8. 

81.  Not  only  was  the  sacred 
laurel  <  i  Apollo  supposed  to  sup- 
ply inspiration  to  those  chewing  it 
(cf.  v.  63),  but  tlie  crackling  noise 
it  made  in  burning  was  the  source 
of  a  popular  divination,  good  for- 
tune being  apparently  indicated  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  crack- 


^71 


5,  82] 


TIBVLLI 


omine  quo  felix  et  sacer  annus  erit. 
laurus  ubi  bona  signa  dedit,  gaudete  coloni : 
distendet  spicis  horrea  plena  Ceres, 
85      oblitus  et  musto  feriet  pede  rusticus  uvas, 
dolia  dum  magni  deficiantque  lacus. 
at  madidus  Baccho  sua  festa  Palilia  pastor 

concinet  (a  stabulis  turn  prpcul  este  lupi): 
ille  levis  stipulae  solemnis  potus  acervos 
90  accendet,  flammas  transilietque  sacras. 

et  fetus  matrona  dabit,  natusque  parent! 

87.    at  u)  ac  0. 


ling  ;  cf.  Verg.  Ec.  8,82;  fragilcs 
incende  bitionine  lau?-us  ;  Prop.  2, 
28,  36. 

83.  dedit:  for  tense  cf.  A. 
520,  2. 

85.  oblitus  .  .  .  musto :  before 
the  invention  of  masks  the  lees  of 
wine  were  daubed  on  the  faces  at 
rustic  festivals.  —  feriet  pede  :  the 
wine-making  process  included 
(i)  pressing  out  the  juice  of  tlie 
grape  by  treading  on  the  fruit  with 
the  bare  feet,  the  juice  running 
into  the  vats  (/acus)  ;  (2)  turning 
it  into  large,  wide-mouthed  jars 
{dolia)  to  settle  and  ferment ; 
(3)  drawing  it  off  into  storage  jars 
{ai/iphorae)  after  a  time;  (4)  put- 
ting away  whatever  was  not  used 
at  once  to  gather  age  and  flavor 
in  the  storeroom  {apotheca)  ;  cf. 
I,  I,  10;  Cato.  R.  R.  113. 

86.  deficiantque :  for  position 
of  -que^  of.  V.   72,  n. 

87.  madidus :  cf.  lacte  fnadens 
(v.  27)  ;  2,  I,  29.  — Palilia  (some- 
times written  Pari/ia)  ■    the  feast 


in  honor  of  Pales,  the  patron  god- 
dess of  the  shepherds,  was  cele- 
brated annually  on  the  21st  of 
April,  the  traditional  birthday  of 
Rome.  A  comparison  of  pasco, 
pabulum,  Pales,  Palatiujit  ( =  a 
fortified  fold  for  the  shepherds  and 
their  flocks),  may  .serve  to  indicate 
the  connection  between  the  god- 
dess and  this  merry  day,  which  is 
still  kept  as  a  festival  in  the  eternal 
city.  For  a  fuller  description  of 
the  customs  of  the  feast,  cf.  i,  i, 
35  ;  Ovid,  Fast.  4,  721  sqq. ;  Prel- 
ler-',  I,  pp.  413  sqq.;  Prop.  4,  4, 
73  sqq. ;  4,  i,  19  ;  Scholia  to  Pers. 
I,  72. 

88.    concinet:   cf.  v.  10. 

90.  No  other  peculiarity  of  the 
Palilia  seems  to  be  as  often  men- 
tioned as  this  custom  of  leaping 
over  blazing  piles  of  hay  or  stub- 
ble. Cf.  Ovid,  Fast.  4,  781  sqq. ; 
Prop.  4,  4.  T]  ;  Pers.  i,  72; 
Fowler.  Rodi.  Fest.,  p.  83. 

91.  fetus:  there  shall  be  fruit- 
fulness  in  the  family  as  well  as  in 


174 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


[5.   104 


95 


100 


oscula  conprensis  auribus  eripiet, 
nee  taedebit  avum  parvo  advigilare  nepoti 

balbaque  cum  puero  dieere  verba  senem. 
tunc  operata  deo  pubes  discumbet  in  herba, 

arboris  antiquae  qua  levis  umbra  cadit, 
aut  e  veste  sua  tendent  umbracula  sertis 

vincta,  coronatus  stabit  et  ante  calix. 
at  sibi  quisque  dapes  et  festas  extruet  alte 

caespitibus  mensas  caespitibusque  torum. 
ingeret  hie  potus  iuvenis  maledicta  puellae, 

post  modo  quae  votis  inrita  facta  velit : 
nam  ferus  ille  suae  plorabit  sobrius  idem 

et  se  iurabit  mente  fuisse  mala. 


98.    ante  w  ipse  0. 


the  flock,  and  a  simple,  happy 
home  life. 

92.  conprensis  auribus :  this 
particular  manner  of  kissing,  in 
which  the  ears  of  the  one  kissed 
were  held  like  the  two  handles  of 
an  amphora,  was  called  the 
"  pitcher  kiss,"  and  is  still  some- 
times called  the  "sailor  kiss." 
For  a  similar  scene  cf.  Vers:. 
Georg.  2,  523. 

94.  balba :  an  onomatopoetic 
word  {?i}^\\\\.o  barbariis^  represent- 
ing originally  the  unintelligible 
prattle  of  an  infant. 

95.  operata  deo  :  cf.  2,  i,  9,  65. 
—  discumbet :  the  regular  word 
for  reclining  at  a  banquet. 

96.  levis:  cf.  Prop.  i.  18,  21. 
98.    coronatus :   for  the   Roman 

custom  of  wreathing  mixing  bowls 
and  cups  on  festal  occasions,  cf. 
Verg.   Aen.   i,   724;    3,    525;    7, 


147;    Stat.   Silv.  3,  76.  — et:    for 
the  position  cf.  i,  10,  51,  n. 

99.  at :  cf.  I,  3,  63.  —  dapes  :  a 
sacrificial  feast  for  the  gods ;  cf. 
2,1,  81  ;   I,  5.  28. 

102.  post  modo:  we  see  here 
in  modo  almost  its  original  force 
as  an  abl.  of  degree  of  difference  ; 
litefally,  '  afterwards  by  a  meas- 
ured (or  limited,  i.e.  moder- 
ate) amount,'  =  shortly  afterwards, 
pretty  soon,  presently.  —  votis  .  .  . 
velit :  emphatic  redundancy. 

103.  ferus  ille  suae  plorabit : 
'  he  that  was  so  cruel  will  beg  for- 
giveness before  his  darling.'  Cf. 
Prop.  I,  12,  15.  n. 

104.  mente  .  .  .  mala  :  i  e.  mente 
male  saiia.  The  expression  was 
commonly  used  in  begging  pardon 
for  an  injury  done.  Cf.  Sen.  De 
Ben.  3.  27  :  cii/n  malam  7ne7ite7)i 
habidsse  se  pridie  hirasset,  etc. 


175 


5'  I05J 


TIBVLLI 


105     pace  tua  pereant  arcus  pereantque  sagittae, 
Phoebe,  modo  in  terris  erret  inermis  Amor, 
ars  bona  :  sed  postquam  sumpsit  sibi  tela  CupidOf 

heu  heu  quam  multis  ars  dedit  ilia  malum  ! 
et  mihi  praecipue.     iaceo  cum  saucius  annum 
no        et  faveo  morbo,  cum  iuvat  ipse  dolor, 

usque  cano  Nemesim,  sine  qua  versus  mihi  nullus 

verba  potest  iustos  aut  reperire  pedes. 
at  tu  (nam  divum  servat  tutela  poetas), 
praemoneo,  vati  parce,  puella,  sacro, 
115    ut  Messalinum  celebrem,  cum  praemia  belli 
ante  suos  currus  oppida  victa  feret, 
ipse  gerens  lauros,  lauro  devinctus  agresti 

109.    iaceo  w  taceo  0.     cum  0  qui  w  iam   IVisser.       no.    cum  0  tarn  at 
quin  Leo.        in.    usque  0  vixque  <o. 


105.  The  lover's  quarrels  just 
described  remind  the  poet  of 
his  own  trials  at  the  hands  of 
Cupid.  —  pace  tua :  A.  420.  4. 
Apollo  and  Diana  were  the  typical 
archers. 

107.  ars  bona  :  i.e.  archery. 

108.  dedit  .  .  .  malum  :  •  played 
the  mischief  with.'  The  expres- 
sion is  a  common  formula,  which 
is  seen  as  early  as  in  tlie  famous 
old  Saturnian  verse,  dabunl  malum 
Metelli  Naevio  poetae. 

109.  et  mihi :  sc.  dedit.  —  cum  : 
temporal  (=  dtmi).  —  annum 
seems  to  indicate  that  a  year  had 
elapsed  since  the  beginning  of  his 
passion  for  Nemesis. 

no.  faveo  morbo:  'nurse  .my 
complaint.'  —  cum  here  approxi- 
mates the  causal  force  so  common 
in  early  Latin.     Cf.  H.  599. 


111.  Nemesim:  who  succeeded 
Delia  as  mistress  of  Tibullus's 
heart.  Seelntr.  §  24. — mihi:  H. 
432.  Note  the  unusual  form  of 
caesura,  in  the  5th  foot ;  cf.  Intr. 

§42,1  (5)  (b). 

112.  iustos  belongs  to  both 
verba  and  pedes  in  thought. 

115.  celebrem :  i.e.  in  the  future, 
whenever  the  opportunity  occurs, 
as  he  had  done  for  his  father 
Me.ssalla  in  i,  7. 

116.  oppida  victa  :  pictures  and 
models  of  conquered  countries, 
cities,  and  fortresses  were  carried 
in  the  triumphal  processions ;  cf. 
Prop.  3,  4,  16;  Ovid.  ^.  y^.  1,219. 
In  addition  to  the  customs  here 
referred  to,  cf.  i.  7,  5-8. 

117.  ipse :    i.e. 
devinctus :      cf.    v. 
'wild.' 


Messalinus.  — ■ 
5 .  —  agresti : 


176 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    II 


[6.  2 


1 20 


miles  '  io  '  magna  voce  'triumphe'  canet. 
tiim  Messalla  meus  pia  det  spectacula  turbae 

et  plaudat  curru  praetereunte  pater, 
adnue  :  sic  tibi  sint  intonsi,  Phoebe,  capilli, 

sic  tua  perpetuo  sit  tibi  casta  soror. 


Castra  Macer  sequitur :  tenero  quid  fiet  Amori  ? 
sit  comes  et  collo  fortiter  arma  gerat  ? 


118.  miles:  collective. 

119.  Neither  Messalla  nor  Ti- 
bullus  lived  to  see  the  triumph  of 
Messalinus,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  actually  celebrated  in  1 1  a.d. 
with  Tiberius,  on  account  of  the 
campaign  in  Illyria.  Cf.  Ovid.  Ex 
Ponto,  2,  2,  75-88.  — pia  det  spec- 
tacula :  exhibit  his  affection  in  the 
manner  indicated  by  the  following 
verse. 

121.  sic:  cf.  V.  63,  n.  —  intonsi 
.  .  .  capilli:  cf.  i,  4.  37-38;  4i  4. 
2;   Hor.  Car.  i,  21,  2;  Epod.   15, 

9- 

It  is  hard  to  understand  why 
any  one  familiar  with  the  artless 
art  of  Tibullus  should  argue 
against  the  genuineness  of  this 
poem  on  the  ground  that  it  is  in- 
complete ! 

2,6 

This,  perhaps  the  last  elegy 
composed  by  Tibullus,  has  a 
peculiar  sirnpTTcIf}'  of  beauty,  and 
illustrates  excellently  the  poet's 
gentle   nature   and    tender   heart. 

KOiM.  EL.  POETS 12 


His  resolve  to  drown  the  sorrows 
of  unsatisfied  love  in  the  sterner 
scenes  of  war  is  soon  broken,  and 
after  confessing  how  a  groundless 
hope  had  so  often  disappointed 
him,  and  after  appealing  once  more 
to  his  Nemesis,  by  her  love  for  her 
lost  sister,  to  look  upon  him  in 
pity,  he  closes  by  affirming  repeat- 
edly that  after  all  his  beloved  is 
not  herself  hard-hearted,  and  that 
he  does  not  wish  to  cause  her  a 
moment's  pain. 

I -14:  'Macer  is  going  to  war : 
why  not  I.  too?  Yes!  1  will  bid 
farewell  to  love,  and  be  a  warrior. 
Empty  words  !  How  often  1  have 
sworn  to  go,  but  all  in  vain! 
15-28:  Cruel  Cupid!  Perish  thy 
darts!  I  am  tormented  con- 
tinually and  should  have  perished 
long  since  but  for  the  kind  goddess 
Hope.  Do  not  try  to  thwart  her, 
my  beloved  !  29-40  :  Be  merciful, 
I  beg,  by  the  memory  of  thy  un- 
happy sister,  the  favor  of  whose 
shade  I  shall  seek  in  my  behalf ! 
41-54:    After    all,    I    would    not 


177 


6,  3] 


TIBVLLI 


lO 


et  seu  longa  virum  terrae  via  seu  vaga  ducent 

aequora,  cum  telis  ad  latus  ire  volet  ? 
lire,  puer,  quaeso,  tua  qui  ferus  otia  liquit, 

atque  iterum  erronem  sub  tua  signa  voca. 
quod  si  railitibus  parces,  erit  hie  quoque  miles, 

ipse  levem  galea  qui  sibi  portet  aquam. 
castra  peto,  valeatque  Venus  valeantque  puellae : 

et  mihi  sunt  vires,  et  mihi  facta  tubast. 
magna  loquor,  sed  magnifice  mihi  magna  locuto 

excutiunt  clausae  fortia  verba  fores. 

6.   8.    levem  AV  levi  G.        lo.    facta  0  flata  Cornelissen  laeta  Postgate. 

nmn  praecipiios ;  also  o8e  in  Greek 
drama,    and    Ens:,    slang,    "  You 


cause  my  mistress  pain.  It  is  not 
she,  but  the  old  hag  that  guards 
her,  who  grieves  me.  Curses  upon 
the  wretch ! ' 

1.  Macer :  probably  Aemilius 
Macer  of  Verona,  who,  as  a  friend 
and  contemporary  of  Vergil,  would 
have  been  also  a  friend  of  Tibullus. 
He  wrote  poems  on  various  sub- 
jects connected  with  natural 
history. 

2.  sit:  G.  259;  R.  1610.  The 
answer  expected  is,  of  course,  a 
negative  one.  Cf.  Wolff,  De 
Eniintiatis  //iterrogativis,  p.  26. 

3.  vaga:  'inconstant.'  Cf.  2, 
3,  39  :  praeda  vago  iussit goninare 
pericula  ponto. 

4.  latus:  />.  Macer's. — volet: 
the  mood  changes  to  correspond 
with  the  verb  of  the  protasis,  du- 
cent, which  expresses  a  probability. 

5.  ure :  the  allusion  is  to  the 
custom  of  branding  runaway 
slaves,  with  all  the  torture  thus 
implied.  —  puer:  Amor. 

7.  hie  =  ego.  Cf.  Plant.  Trin. 
2 1 1 5  :  hie  homost   onmium  horni- 


Eng. 
don't  catch  this  chicken,"  etc. 

8.  ipse :  Tibullus  proposes  to 
enlist  merely  as  a  private,  and 
would  perform  every  service,  how- 
ever menial,  for  himself.  —  levem  : 
in  the  same  sense  in  which  the 
word  is  used  of  food,  i.e.  '  easy  to 
digest ' ;  so  the  plain,  hard  fare  of 
a  soldier's  life  is  thought  of.  Cf. 
Hor.  Od.  1,31,  16;  cicJiorea  le- 
vesqiee  vialvae.  —  galea  :  the  handi- 
est cup  a  soldier  had ;  cf.  Prop. 
3,  12,  8:  potabis  galea  fessus 
Ara.xts  aqua/)!. 

10.  facta  tubast :  i.e.  not 
only  have  I  strength  in  general, 
but  an  especial  opportunity  now 
open,  to  go. 

11.  magna:  cf.  Ovid,  Met.  i, 
751  :  qjiem  quondam  magna  lo- 
quentein ;  6,  151:  cedere  caelitibus, 
verbisqiie  /nitioribus  iiti. 

12.  fores:  i.e.  of  the  house  of 
Nemesis ;  to  find  her  door  closed 
against  him  takes  all  the  starch 
out  of  his  brave  resolve. 


178 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[6,  26 


iuravi  quotiens  rediturum  ad  limina  numquam ! 
cum  bene  iuravi,  pes  tamen  ipse  redit. 
15      acer  Amor,  fractas  utinam  tua  tela  sagittas, 
si  licet,  extinctas  adspiciamque  faces ! 
tu  miserum  torques,  tu  me  mihi  dira  precari  (yu^^^^ 

cogis  et  insana  mente  nel^^a  loqui. 
iam  mala  finissem  leto,  sed  credula  vitam 
20  Spes  f^et  et  fore  eras  semper  ait  melius. 

Spe^^it  agricolas,  Spes  sulcis  credit  aratis 
semina,  quae  magno  fenore  reddat  ager : 
haec  laqueo  volucres,  haec  captat  aruiidine  pisces, 
cum  tenues  hamos  abdidit  ante  cibus  : 
25      Spes  etiam  valida  solatur  compede  vinctum 
(crura  sonant  ferro,  sed  canit  inter  opus): 


14.  bene  :  *  finely,'  i.e.  with  great 
apparent  bravado.  Cf.  Plant.  Pers. 
495  :  it'/ie  dictis  tuis  bene  facta 
mires  meae  aiixiliitm  exposcuitt.  — 
iuravi :  H.  599,  i .  —  pes  .  .  .  ipse  : 
for  the  reverse  idea  cf.  Prop. 
2,  25.  20  :  invitis  ipse  redit  pedi- 
bus. 

15.  acer  Amor:  cf.  4,  2,  6. — 
sagittas  .  .  .  faces  :  H.  &  T.  §  1 1 1 . 

16.  adspiciamque  :  on  the  posi- 
tion of  the  copula  cf.  2,  5,  72,  n. 

18.  nefanda :  not  merely  such 
as  have  just  been  spoken  (vv.  15- 
16),  but  more  serious  blasphemies. 
Cf.  3,  5,  14;  4,  16. 

19.  finissem:  we  should  expect 
nisi  Spes  idtai)i  foveret ;  but  the 
apodosis  becomes  an  indicative 
clause,  to  state  the  fact  more  em- 
phatically. Cf.  Ovid,  A.  A.  3,  43  : 
nunc  quoqiie  nescirentl  sed  ine 
Cytherea  docere  iitssit. 


20.  eras :  a  scrawler  on  the 
walls  of  the  basilica  at  Pompeii 
evidently  had  this  verse  in  mind 
wlien  he  wrote  {C/L.  4,  1837)  : 
cier  gaudia  differs  speinque  foves 
et  eras  usque  redire  iitbes. 

22.  magno  fenore :  this  modal 
ablative  is  really  more  exact  than 
the  corresponding  abl.  of  accomp. 
in  Ovid.  Rem.  Am.  173:  semina 
.  .  .  quae  tibi  cum  mitlto  faenore 
reddat  ager  ;  for  the  original  seed 
is  not  itself  returned  to  the  sower 
with  others  at  all,  but  comes  back 
to  him  only  by  the  '  increase.'  Cf. 
I     Ep.     to    the     Corinthians     15, 

36-3^- 

24.  tenues :  '  slender,'  i.e.  in 
comparison  to  the  creatures  which 
are  caught  on  them. 

26.  crura  sonant  ferro  :  the  sub- 
ject is  different  in  English  :  '  the 
iron  fetters  clank  upon  his  legs.' 


179 


6,  27] 


TIBVLLI 


Spes  facilem  Nemesim  spondet  mihi,  sed  negat  ilia'. 

hei  mihi,  ne  vincas,  dura  puella,  deam. 
parce,  per  inmatura  tuae  precor  ossa  sororis : 
30  sic  bene  sub  tenera  parva  quiescat  humo. 

ilia  mihi  sancta  est,  illius  dona  sepulcro 

at  madefacta  meis  serta  feram  lacrimis, 
illius  ad  turaulum  fugiam  supplexque  sedebo 

et  mea  cum  muto  fata  querar  cinere. 
35      non  feret  usque  suum  te  propter  flere  clientem : 

illius  ut  verbis,  sis  mihi  lenta  veto, 
ne  tibi  neglecti  mittant  mala  somnia  manes, 


—  canit :  the  subject  is  violently 
changed  to  a  personal  one  easily 
imagined  from  the  context 
{jiincium^. 

27.  Nemesim  :  see  Intr.  §  24. 

28.  deam:  Spes. 

29.  inmatura :  '  not  yet  due  to 
death,' so  'untimely.' — ossa:  by 
metonomy  for  jnors.  Cf  Prop. 
I,  19,  I,  n. — sororis:  this  rather 
shadowy  person  is  nameless,  but 
from  the  definiteness  of  the  details 
given  below  seems  to  be  real 
rather  than  fictitious. 

30.  sic  .  .  .  quiescat :  cf.  2,  5, 
63,  n.  —  sub  tenera  .  .  .  humo:  the 
petition  will  be  that  the  ground 
shall  rest  tenderly  upon  the  ashes 
of  her  dead  sister  as  if  it  had  con- 
sciousness to  appreciate  the  con- 
ventional request,  sit  tibi  terra 
levis.  The  belief  that  the  soul  of 
the  dead  rested  eternally  in  the 
grave,  while  by  no  means  univer- 
sal among  the  Romans,  is  clearly 
indicated  in  many  epitaphs.     Cf. 


K.P.H.  in  PAPA.,  Vol.  30  (1899), 

p.   XXX. 

31.  dona:  besides  garlands, 
these  included  offerings  of  blood, 
oil,  milk,  honey,  and  perfumes. 
B.G^.,p.  521;  H.&T.  §3. — sepul- 
cro :  not  a  terminal  dat. ;  '  in  honor 
of  her  tomb.' 

34.  cum:  the  word  implies  the 
poet's  expectation  of  finding  sym- 
pathy with  him  in  his  woes.  — 
muto :  equivalent  to  a  concessive 
clause. 

35.  clientem:  he  claims  her  as 
a  patroness,  just  as  in  v.  33  he 
has  played  the  part  of  a  fugitive 
slave  seeking  refuge  at  her  tomb. 

36.  illius  ut  verbis :  '  as  if  I 
were  using  her  own  words.'  —  sis  : 
the  rare  subjv.  instead  of  the  regu- 
lar inf.  with  veto  H.  642,  5. — 
lenta:  'indifferent.' 

37.  Cf.  H.  &  T.  §  3;  Verg. 
Aen.  6,  896:  and  J.  W.  Hewitt  in 
Har7'ard  Studies,  19,  92,  n.  6. 
The  Manes  might  also  send  good 

80 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II  [6,  51 

maestaque  sopitae  stet  soror  ante  torum, 
qualis  ab  excelsa  praeceps  delapsa  fenestra 
40  venit  ad  infernos  sanguinolenta  lacus. 

desino,  ne  dominae  luctus  renoventur  acerbi : 

non  ego  sum  tanti,  ploret  ut  ilia  semel. 
nee  lacrimis  ociilos  digna  est  foedare  loquaces : 
lena  nocet  nobis,  ipsa  puella  bonast. 
45      lena  necat  miserum  Phryne  furtimque  tabellas 
occulto  portans  itque  reditque  sinu  : 
saepe,  ego  cum  dominae  dulces  a  limine  duro 

agnosco  voces,  haec  negat  esse  domi  : 
saepe,  ubi  nox  promissa  mihi  est,  languere  puellam 
50  nuntiat  aut  aliquas  extimuisse  minas. 

turn  morior  curis,  turn  mens  mihi  perdita  fingit, 

45.    necat  G  vetat  AV  vocat  Lachmann  suggests. 

dreams.      '  Her    sweet    forg^otten  puellae  flendo    turgiduli    rubent 

shade  '  (Williams).  ocelli. 

39.  qualis:  cf.  i,  10,37,11.  44.    lena:     'her   old    hag  of  a 

40.  lacus:    cf.    Verg.    Aen.  6,  guardian.'     Tibullus  feels  obliged 
134:  bis  Stygiosin7iare  lacus.  to  vent    his  feelings  upon    some- 

41.  desinS :    the  only  instance  body. 

of  the  short  final   syllable  in   this  45.    tabellas:  'billets-doux.' 

word.      Tibullus  has  also  nescio.  47.   cum :  concessive,  with  ind. 

Similar  shortenings  are  rare  up  to  Cf.  note  on  Cat.  68,  32.  —  duro  :  it 

the  time  of  Ovid.     Cf.  L.  2443.  —  is  called   hard-hearted  because   it 

luctus:  over  her  sister's  untimely  will  not  let  him  pass  to  his  ladylove, 

death.  48.    haec:  letta.     Cf.  the  story 

42.  Cf.  I,  I,  51,  52.     Thestand-  of  Nasica   and    Ennius,    Cic.    De 
point  of  I,   10,  63-64  is  a  differ-  Orat.  2,  ch.  68. 

ent  one.      Cf.   also   Ovid,    Trist.  49.    '  Often  when  a  meeting  has 

2,  209  :  nam  non  sum  tanti,  reno-  been  arranged.' 

vem  ut  tua  vulnera.  50.   aliquas :     made    by    some 

43.  digna  est:  'it  is  not  meet  unnamed  rival  perhaps. 

that  she.'  —  foedare  loquaces:  cf.  51.    perdita:  'desperately  jeal- 

Cat.  3,  17:  tua  nunc  opera  meae      ous.' 

181 


6.  52] 


riBVLLI 


qiiisve  meam  teneat,  quot  teneatve  modis. 
turn  tibi,  lena,  precor  diras  :  satis  anxia  vivas, 
moverit  e  votis  pars  quotacumque  deos. 


LIBER   TERTIVS 


Qui  primus  caram  iuveni  carumque  puellae 

eripuit  iuvenem,  ferreus  ille  fuit. 
durus  et  ille  fuit,  qui  tantum  ferre  dolorem, 

vivere  et  erepta  coniuge  qui  potuit. 
non  ego  firmus  in  hoc,  non  haec  patientia  nostro 

ingenio  :  f rangit  fortia  corda  dolor  : 
nee  mihi  vera  loqui  pudor  est  vitaeque  fateri 

tot  mala  perpessae  taedia  nata  meae. 


52.  meam  teneat :  •  is  caressing 
my  darling.'' 

53.  satis :  sarcastically ;  cf. 
Eng.,  '  You'll  get  all  you  want  of 
it.'  —  vivas  =  s!s. 

54.  '  Should  even  the  least  little 
bit  of  my  prayers  be  answered.' 
A.  519. 

3' 2 

On  the  authorship  and  poetic 
merit   of  Book   3.   cf.   Intr.  §  25. 

1-8:  'A  heartless  wretch  has 
stolen  my  promised  bride ;  I  no 
longer  care  to  live ;  9-30 :  my 
wish  is  that  Neaera  and  her 
mother  may  duly  perform  for 
me  all  the  last  sad  offices.' 


2.  ferreus  ille  fuit:  cf.  i,  10, 
2.  Similar  imitations  of  the  gen- 
uine work  of  Tibullus  are  frequent 
in  tliis  hook. 

4.  coniuge:  'betrothed';  prob- 
ably a  coniunx  by  anticipation 
only  ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  3.  330  :  ereptae 
magna  flinuviatns  amare  coiiiitgis ; 
2.  344 :  gener  au^iliiDii  Priama 
.  .  .  ferebat.  —  qui :  of  the  same 
antecedent  as  the  qui  in  v.  3  ;  cf. 
Cat.  64.  96 :  qiiaegue  regis  Golgos 
quaeque  Idaliiiiii  frandosiun. 

5.  in  hoc  =  iisqite  adeo  ;  '  to 
this  extent.' 

6.  For  a  similarly  sententious 
verse,  cf.  3,  4.  76  :  vincimhir  molh 
iiectora  dura  prece. 


182 


ELEC.TARVM    I.lliF.R    III 


[2.  21 


10 


15 


20 


ergo  cum  tenuem  fiiero  mutatus  in  umbram 

candidaque  ossa  super  nigra  favilla  teget, 
ante  meum  veniat  longos  incompta  capillos 

et  fleat  ante  meum  maesta  Neaera  rogum. 
sed  veniat  carae  matris  comitata  dolore  : 

maereat  haec  genero,  maereat  ilia  viro. 
praefatae  ante  meos  manes  animamque  precatae 

perfusaeque  pias  ante  liquore  man  us, 
pars  quae  sola  mei  superabit  corporis,  ossa 

incinctae  nigra  Candida  veste  legent, 
et  primum  annoso  spargent  collecta  Lyaeo, 

mox  etiam  niveo  fundere  lacte  parent, 
post  haec  carbaseis  umorem  tollere  velis 

2.    15.    precatae  w  rogate  A  rogatae  V  recentem  Postgate. 


9.  ergo:  cf.  Prop  2,  13,  17. — 
tenuem  ...  in  umbram :  cf.  Verof. 
Ae)i.  4,  278:  ill  temtetn  ex  ocnlis 
evamiit  auram. 

10.  The  details  of  the  Roman 
burial  customs  here  following  are 
given  with  varying  degrees  of 
completeness  in  several  other  note- 
worthy passages  ;  e.g.  Prop.  2,  13  ; 
I,  17,  19-24;  4,  I,  127;  Ovid, 
7>-/,v/.  3,  3  ;  Verg.  Aen.  6.  202- 
235.  See  B.  G.  Excursus,  Scene 
12;  Guhl  und  Koner*',  p.  857. — 
super  .  .  .  teget:  tmesis. 

12.  fleat:  of  the  lament  just  as 
the  pyre  was  lighted. — Neaera: 
cf  Intr.  §  25  ;  also  i,  i,  61  sqq. 

13.  matris  .  .  .  dolore  =  a 
tnatre  dolente ;    cf.   Cat.  66,  50,  n. 

14.  genero  .  .  .  viro  :  dat. ;  cf. 
V.  4,  n. 

15.  sqq.:  cf.  B.(J.  519.  —  prae- 
fatae ante :  pleonastic. 


16.    liquore  :  i.e.  aqua. 

18.  incinctae  :  •  enveloped  '  (in 
the  black  mourning  robe) .  —  nigra 
Candida  :  the  juxtaposition  of  the 
words  is  intended  to  heighten  the 
effect  of  the  contrast.  —  veste  :  in- 
strumental abl.  ;  the  ashes  are 
gathered  into  the  robe  itself. — 
legent,  like  spargent  in  v.  19.  ex- 
presses greater  confidence  than 
the  following  optative  subjunc- 
tives. 

20.  fundere:  cf.  1,  7,  50. — 
lacte  :  for  its  appropriateness  as  an 
offering  to  earth  powers,  cf.  Fowler, 
Roman  Festi7<als,  p.  103;  cf.  its 
use  in  incantations,  e.g.  i.  2.  48. 

21.  carbaseis  .  .  .  velis  :  'a  linen 
cloth  '  upon  which  the  ashes  were 
dried.  For  the  plural  see  Lex. 
s.v.  Cf.  Cic.  In  Ver.  5,  12,  §  30: 
tabernaciila  carbaseis  intenta  velis 
conlocabat. 


183 


2,    22] 


TIBVLLI 


atque  in  marmorea  ponere  sicca  domo. 
illic  quas  mittit  dives  Panchaia  merces 
eoique  Arabes,  pinguis  et  Assyria, 
25      et  nostri  memores  lacrimae  fundantur  eodem  : 
sic  ego  conponi  versus  in  ossa  velim. 
sed  tristem  mortis  demonstret  littera  causam 
atque  haec  in  celebri  carmina  fronte  notet. 
'  Lygdamus  hie  situs  est :  dolor  huic  et  cura  Neaerae, 
30  coniugis  ereptae,  causa  perire  fuit.' 

24.   pinguis  <i>  (lives  0. 


22.  marmorea  .  .  .  domo :  i.e. 
sepulcro ;  cf.  tlie  epitaph  in  Bue- 
cheler's  Car.  Epig.  434,  v.  15  :  haec 
dovms  aeterna  est.,  hie  sum  situs, 
hie  ero  semper ;  also  PAPA.,  Vol. 
30,  p.  XXX  ;  Prop.  2,  13,  32,  n. — 
sicca:  "when  dry.'  —  Only  one 
in  every  three  pentameters  in 
this  Elegy  opens  with  a  spondee  ; 
and  one  in  every  three  contains 
onlv  dactyls,  e.g.  v.  2.      Cf.  Intr. 

§42,11(5)- 

23.  Panchaia  :  a  fabulous  island 
supposed  to  be  in  the  Erythraean 
Sea.  —  merces :  perfumes.  Cf. 
Ovid.  Fast.  3.  561  :  uiixta  bibunt 
tiiflllcs  lacriniis  itnguenta  favillae. 

24.  Assyria:  on  the  form 
of    the     verse     cf.     Intr.     §     42, 

II    (2). 

25.  lacrimae:   cf.  i.  3.  8. 

26.  sic  :  i.e.  as  just  described.  — 
conponi :  '  to  be  consigned  to  the 
tomb';  cf.  Prop.  2,  24,  35:  tu 
mea  coti pones  et  dices,  *  ossa,  Pro- 
perti,  haec  tua  sunt.'  —  versus  in 

I 


ossa :  '  when  I  have  become  "  dust 
to  dust."' 

27.  littera  :  '  inscription  ' ;  cf. 
Ovid,  Met.  1 1,  705  :  inque  sepulcro 
si  non  urna,  tanien  iunget  nos 
littera. 

28.  celebri : '  upon  the  thronged 
highway.'  This  is  exactly  the 
situation  that  Propertius  (3,  16. 
25)  prays  his  tomb  may  not 
have. 

29.  Lygdamus :  the  word  oc- 
curs nowhere  else  in  the  book.  A 
comparison  of  the  Greek  AvySos 
suggests  the  probability  that  it 
was  formed  to  furnish  an  equiva- 
lent for  Albius  (Tibullus). 

30.  perire  :  poetic  with  causa  ; 
cf.  Verg.  Aen.  i  o,  90  :  quae  causa 

fuit,  consurgere  in  arma.  As 
other  commentators  have  re- 
marked, this  was  about  the  last 
reason  Neaera  would  have  as- 
signed in  an  epitaph  upon  a  re 
jectedlover  or  husband!  Tibullus 
would  hardly  have  been  so  absurd. 

84 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   III 


[3.  14 


10 


Quid  prodest  caelum  votis  inplesse,  Neaera, 

blandaque  cum  multa  tura  dedisse  prece, 
non  ut  marmorei  prodirem  e  limine  tecti, 

insignis  clara  conspicuusque  domo, 
aut  ut  multa  mei  renovarent  iugera  tauri 

et  magnas  messes  terra  benigna  daret, 
sed  tecum  ut  longae  sociarem  gaudia  vitae 

inque  tuo  caderet  nostra  senecta  sinu 
turn  cum  permenso  defunctus  tempore  lucis 

nudus  Lethaea  cogerer  ire  rate  ? 
nam  grave  quid  prodest  pondus  mihi  divitis  auri, 

arvaque  si  findant  pinguia  mille  boves  ? 
quidve  domus  prodest  Phrygiis  innixa  columnis, 

Taenare  sive  tuis,  sive  Caryste  tuis, 


3.  3 
1-26  :  '  Alas !  Neaera,  what  does 
it  profit  that  I  pray  continually  — 
not  for  wealth,  for  that  were  idle 
—  but  for  thy  return  to  me,  even 
though  poverty  be  our  lot  ?  27- 
38 :  Without  thee  not  all  the 
riches  of  the  world  can  satisfy 
me.  Let  me  have  my  beloved,  or 
let  me  die!' 

2.  blandaque  .  .  .  tura :  cf. 
Prop.  4,  6,  5. 

3.  prodirem:  i.e.  as  the  owner. 

5.  multa:  cf  i,  i,  2.  —  renova- 
rent :  i.e.  by  plowing ;  cf.  Ovid, 
Trist.  5,  12,  23:  assidno  si  non 
renovatur  aratro. 

8.  caderet  nostra  senecta  —  ego 
senex  occidere>n. 


lo.  nudus :  cf  Job  i,  21  ; 
Prop.  3,  5,  14.  —  Lethaea:  cf.  3, 
5,  24.  We  might  have  expected 
Stygia ;  but  the  poets  are  not 
particular  to  distinguish  the  in- 
fernal streams.  Mention  of  the 
river  Lethe  does  not  appear  till 
after  the  classical  Greek  period. 

12.  Sc  guid  prosit. 

13.  Phrygiis  :  a  popular  marble 
at  Rome ;  white  with  purple 
streaks. 

14.  Taenare :  the  marble  quar- 
ried on  this  promontory  was  black. 
—  Caryste  :  in  Euboea ;  here  a 
marble  combining  white  and  green 
tints  was  obtained.  The  remains 
of  ancient  structures  in  Rome 
abound  in  fragments  of  rare  mar- 
bles, and   the  interior  of  such   a 


18; 


3.  15] 


TIBVLLI 


15 


20 


25 


30 


et  nemora  in  domibiis  sacros  imitantia  lucos 

aurataeque  trabes  marmoreumque  solum  ? 
quidve  in  Erythraeo  legitur  quae  litore  concha 

tinctaque  Sidonio  murice  Ian  a  iuvat, 
et  quae  praeterea  populus  miratur  ?  in  illis 

invidia  est :  falso  plurima  vulgus  amat. 
non  opibus  mentes  hominum  curaeque  levantur 

nam  Fortuna  sua  tempora  lege  regit. 
sit  mihi  paupertas  tecum  iucunda,  Neaera: 

at  sine  te  regum  munera  nulla  volo. 
o  niveam,  quae  te  poterit  mihi  reddere,  lucem ! 

o  mihi  felicem  terque  quaterque  diem  ! 
at  si,  pro  dulci  reditu  quaecumque  voventur, 

audiat  aversa  non  meus  aure  deus, 
nee  me  regna  iuvant  nee  Lydius  aurifer  amnis 

nee  quas  terrarum  sustinet  orbis  opes, 
haec  alii  cupiant,  liceat  mihi  paupere  cultu 


building  as  the  basilica  of  S.  Paolo 
Fiiori  le  Miira  gives  us  a  slight 
hint  as  to  the  magnificence  in  that 
respect  that  must  have  been  com- 
mon in  Rome's  best  days.  The 
poets  frequently  refer  to  this ;  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  2,  18,  3-5;  2,  15,  20; 
Statius  Silv.  i,  5,  34  sqq.  ;  Prop. 
3.  2,  9. 

15.  nemora :  in  the  peristyles 
of  luxurious  houses,  and  the  great 
villas  of  the  wealthy- 

16.  aurataeque :  cf.  Hor.  Car. 
2,  18,  I  :  IVon  ebier  neqiie  aiireicm 
mea  renidet  in  dome  lacunar. 

17.  concha:  by  metonomy  for 
the  pearl  within  the  concha.  Cf. 
2,  4,  30 :  e  rubra  hicida  concha 
mart. 


20.  invidia  :  i.e.  causa  invidiae. 
—  falso  :  *  without  reason." 

21.  levantur:  a  zeugma;  the 
minds  are  not  '  relieved,'  and  cares 
are  not  'removed.' 

23.  Cf.  I,  I,  57-58.  —  tecum: 
i.e.  ditmntfldo  tecum  .tim. 

25.  niveam:  cf.  Cat.  107,  6,  n. 
This  is,  however,  an  unusual  ad- 
jective. Cf.  the  current  slang, 
"  Treated  him  white."  The  op- 
posite is  atra  (or  nigra)  dies ;  cf. 
3.  5.  5,  n. ;  Ovid,  A.  A.  i.  418. 

28.  non  meus  :  '  unfriendly.' 

29.  Lydius  aurifer  amnis :  the 
Pactolus.     Cf.  Prop,  i,  14,  11. 

30.  quas  =  quascumque. 

31.  Cf.  I.  I.  passim.  —  paupere 
cultu :  cf.  I,  10.  19. 


186 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[5.  2 


seciiro  cara  coniuge  posse  frui. 
adsis  et  timidis  faveas,  Saturnia,  votis, 

et  faveas  concha,  Cypria,  vecta  tua. 
35      aut  si  fata  negant  reditum  tristesque  sorores 

stamina  quae  ducunt  quaeque  futura  neunt, 
me  vocet  in  vastos  amnes  nigramque  paludem 

dives  in  ignava  luridus  Orcus  aqua. 


Vos  tenet  Etruscis  manat  quae  fontibus  unda, 
unda  sub  aestivum  non  adeunda  canem, 

3.    36.    neunt  0  canunt  Heinsius  regunt  Dissen.       38.    dives  in  0  Ditis 
et  (i>. 


33.  Saturnia :  Juno,  the  pa- 
troness of  wedlock. 

34.  concha:  cf.  Baum.  Denk., 
p.  94.  —  Cypria :  Venus,  who 
might  aid  the  poet's  suit  for  a 
return  of  Neaera's  favor. 

35.  sorores  =  Parcae. 

36.  Cf.  I.  7,  I.  —  quaeque:  for 
the  repetition  cf.  3,  2,  4. — neunt 
=  nent ;  the  form  occurs  only 
here ;  cf.  L.  837. 

37.  vastos  :   '  desolate.' 

38.  dives  :  the  Latinized  epithet 
of  the  Greek  Hade:s  (Plouton)  is 
here  applied  to  the  more  vague 
equivalent,  Orcus ;  H.&T.  §  loi. 
Translate  in  this  order :  e/njcs 
Orcus,  lurid  Its  in  ignava  aqua. 

3>  5 
1-20:   'While  you.  my  friends, 
are  seeking  health  at  the  Etruscan 


springs,  I  am  languishing  at  home, 
near  death.  Spare  me,  Perseph- 
one! I  have  done  no  crime, 
nor  committed  sacrilege,  and  I 
am  still  a  young  man.  21- 
34 :  Spare  me,  all  ye  gods 
of  the  nether  world,  till  old  age 
shall  ripen  me  for  death!  I  hope 
my  fears  are  groundless ;  but, 
friends,  while  you  enjoy  yourselves 
at  the  springs,  do  not  forget  to 
offer  sacrifices  for  my  recovery.' 

1.  Vos :  we  have  no  clue  to  the 
namesofhis  friends  here  addressed. 
—  Etruscis  .  .  .  fontibus  :  there  are 
said  to  have  been  hot  springs  of  a 
considerable  reputation  at  various 
places  in  Etruria,  e.g.  Caere,  Pisae, 
and  Centumcellae.  —  VLX^^di  —  aqua. 

2.  non  adeunda  :  on  account  of 
the  unhealthy  climate,  which  is 
still  notorious  all  along  this  coast. 


187 


5-  3] 


TIBVLLI 


nunc  autem  sacris  Baiarum  proxima  lymphis, 

cum  se  purpureo  vere  remittit  humus: 
5        at  mihi  Persephone  nigram  denuntiat  horam  : 

inmerito  iuveni  parce  nocere,  dea. 
non  ego  temptavi  nuUi  temeranda  virorum 

audax  laudandae  sacra  docere  deae, 
nee  mea  mortiferis  infecit  pocula  sucis 
lo  dextera  nee  cuiquam  trita  venena  dedit, 

nee  nos  sacrilegos  templis  admovimus  ignes, 

nee  cor  solHcitant  facta  nefanda  meum, 
nee  nos  insanae  meditantes  iurgia  mentis 

inpia  in  adversos  solvimus  ora  deos : 
15      et  nondum  cani  nigros  laesere  capillos, 

nee  venit  tardo  curva  senecta  pede. 
natalem  primo  nostrum  videre  parentes, 

5.    7.    virorum  w  deorum  0  piorum //a//.       il.    sacrilegos  G  sacrilegis  AV 
sacrilegi  a>.        12.    facta  0  furta  Baehrens.       16.    tardo  0  tacito  P. 


3.  nunc  :  at  this  time  of  year. 
—  autem  :  the  word  is  not  used  by 
TibuUus,  and  occurs  only  here  in 
the  whole  Tibullus  collection.  — 
proxima  :  in  popularity. 

4.  remittit :  i.e.  from  the  frosts 
of  winter. 

5.  nigram  .  .  .  horam :  i.e.  of 
death;  of.  i,  3,  4-5;  3,  3,  25,  n.  ; 
Prop.. 2,  24,  34  :  non  niger  tile  dies. 

7.  virorum :  the  presence  of 
any  of  the  male  sex  at  the  rites  of 
the  Bona  Dea  was  strictly  for- 
bidden. Cf.  I,  6,  22  :  sacra  bonae 
niaribiis  non  adennda  deae  ;  Ovid, 
A.  A.  3,637:  Fasi.  5,  153;  Plut. 
Cic.  19;  Macr.  i,  12,  26;  Prop.  4, 
9,  25  ;  Paus.  8,  31,  8.  Men  were 
excluded  from  the  temples  of 
'great  goddesses.' 


8.    laudandae :     i.e.    bonae.  — 
docere  :  •  to  divulge.' 

10.  dextera  .  .  .  dedit :  mix- 
ing poison,  and  offering  it  to 
anybody,  are  distinguished.  Both 
were  far  too  common  in  this 
age.  Cf.  Aristoph.  Frogs,  123 
sqq. 

15.  cani:  cf.  i,  8,  42:  cutn 
veins  infecit  cana  senecta  caput ; 
Prop.  3,  5,  24.  For  the  close  par- 
allels, to  this  and  the  following 
vv.,  in  Ovid  cf.  A.  A.  2,  669; 
Trist.  4.  10,  5  ;  Am.  2,  14,  23. 
For  theories  in  explanation  cf. 
Intr.  §  25. 

16.  tardo  .  .  .  pede  :  to  be  taken 
with  senecta.  Cf.  Ovid,  A.  A.  2, 
670  :  iant  veniet  tacito  curva 
senecta  pede. 


188 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    III 


[5.  32 


20 


25 


30 


cum  cecidit  fato  consul  uterque  pari, 
quid  fraudare  iuvat  vitem  crescentibus  uvis 

et  modo  nata  mala  vellere  poma  manu  ? 
parcite,  pallentes  undas  quicumque  tenetis 

duraque  sortiti  tertia  regna  dei. 
Elysios  olim  liceat  cognoscere  campos 

Lethaeamque  ratem  Cimmeriosque  lacus, 
cum  mea  rugosa  pallebunt  ora  senecta 

et  referam  pueris  tempora  prisca  senex. 
atque  utinam  vano  nequiquam  terrear  aestu  ! 

languent  ter  quinos  sed  mea  membra  dies, 
at  vobis  Tuscae  celebrantur  numina  lymphae 

et  facilis  lenta  pellitur  unda  manu. 
vivite  felices,  memores  et  vivite  nostri, 

sive  erimus  sen  nos  fata  fuisse  velint. 


18.  consul  uterque:  the  con- 
suls Hirtius  and  Pansa  both  fell  in 
battle  at  Mutina,  B.C.  43.  This 
verse  occurs  again  in  Ovid, 
Trisl.  4,  10,  6.  For  a  discussion 
of  the  chronological  and  other 
difficulties  which  thus  arise  cf. 
Intr.  §§  21,  25. 

19.  Cf.  Ovid,  A>n.  2,  14,  23. 

21.  pallentes:  cf.  3,  i,  28: 
pallida  Ditis  aqua. 

22.  duraque  :  the  use  of  the  two 
adjectives  with  regua  is  permissible 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  tertia  regna 
is  practically  equivalent  to  Orcutn. 
The  three  kingdoms  were  those  of 
the  three  brothers,  Zeus,  Poseidon, 
and  Hades. 

23.  olim  :  'at  some  future  time.' 
5.4.    Lethaeamque :  cf.   3,  3,   10, 

n.  —  Cimmeriosque   lacus:    cf.    i, 
10.  38,  n.     The  Cimmerii  were  a 


fabulous  people  whom  Homer 
located  only  vaguely  in  the  far 
west,  where  they  were  supposed  to 
live  in  the  midst  of  perpetual 
clouds  and  darkness.  But  later 
writers  endeavored  to  localize  them 
more  definitely  in  different  places, 
among  others,  in  caves  near 
Cumae,  where  they  dwelt  in  per- 
petual darkness  :  cf.  4,  1,64;  Cic. 
Acad.  2,  19,  61.  Hence  'Cimme- 
rian '  darkness  became  proverbial, 
and  the  epithet  was  easily  applied 
to  the  regions  (here,  lacus')  of  the 
lower  world. 

27.   aestu  —  febri. 

30.  manu :  i.e.  of  the  swim- 
mers. 

32.  fuisse :  the  well-known  eu- 
phemism for  death.  Cf.  Verg. 
Aen.  2,  325  :  fuimus  Troes,  fuit 
Ilium. 


189 


5.  33^ 


TIBVLLI 


interea  nigras  pecudes  promittite  Diti 
et  nivei  lactis  pocula  mixta  mero. 

LIBER   QVARTVS 


Sulpicia  est  tibi  culta  tuis,  Mars  magne,  kalendis : 

spectatum  e  caelo,  si  sapis;  ipse  veni. 
hoc  Venus  ignoscet ;  at  tu,  violente,  caveto 


33.  nigras:  as  the  most  appro- 
priate sacrifices  to  the  gods  of  the 
lower  world,  to  whom  (e.j^:  Dis. 
Vejovis,  and  Manes)  black  sheep 
were  offered.  The  same  idea  ap- 
pears in  the  folklore  of  other 
nations. 

34.  lactis  :  cf.  3,  2,  20,  n. 

4,  2 

On  the  authorship  of  Book 
4,  see  Intr.  §  26. 

The  old  Roman  year  began  on 
March  i,  on  which  day  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  give  presents,  even 
after  the  reformation  of  the  calen- 
dar in  46  B.C.  by  Julius  Caesar, 
which  established  Jan.  i  as  New 
Year's  day.  As  March  i  was  the 
festival  of  the  Matronalia  (the 
femineae  kalendae  of  Juv.  9.53), 
it  was  especially  appropriate  for 
husbands  to  give  presents  to  their 
wives.  This  poem  seems  to  have 
been  written  to  accompany  such  a 
gift  made  by  Cerinthus  to  Sulpicia, 
—  a  lover  to  a  prospective  wife,  — ■ 
which  may  have  been,  as  Belling 


believes  it  was  (Bell.  ^.,  p.  3).  the 
following  group  of  poems  (4,  3-6), 
or  they  may  have  accompanied 
other  gifts.  On  the  personality  of 
Cerinthus  (whose  name  does  not, 
indeed,  appear  in  this  elegy)  and 
of  Sulpicia,  cf.  Intr.  §  24,  and  2, 
2,  Intr. 

1-14  :  '  On  thy  festal  day,  great 
Mars,  Sulpicia's  native  beauty  is 
so  heightened  by  her  adornment 
as  to  make  her  fit  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  divine  Vertumnus. 
15-24:  She  is  the  only  maiden 
worthy  to  receive  all  costly  gifts. 
Therefore,  ye  Muses,  sing  of  her 
your  choicest  praises.' 

1.  tibi  culta  :  '  arrayed  in  thine 
honor.' 

2.  ipse  veni :  cf.  2,  5,  5. 

3.  Venus  :  the  beloved  of  Mars. 
—  ignoscet :  on  account  of  Sulpi- 
cia's  remarkable  beauty.  Cf.  Prop. 
2,  28,  33.  For  the  quantity  of  the 
last  syllable  cf.  i,  10.  13,  n.- — 
caveto  :  the  tense  implies  the  usual 
colloquial  familiarity :  "  You"d 
better  look  out."  Cf.  PAPA.,  Vol. 
26  (1895).  p.  Ixi. 

90 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I\ 


[2,  i6 


lO 


15 


ne  tibi  miranti  turpiter  arma  cadant. 
illius  ex  oculis,  cum  vult  exurere  divos, 

accendit  geminas  lampadas  acer  Amor, 
illam,  quidquid  agit,  quoquo  vestigia  movit, 

conponit  furtim  subsequiturque  Decor, 
sen  solvit  crines,  fusis  decet  esse  capillis  ; 

seu  compsit,  comptis  est  veneranda  comis. 
urit,  seu  Tyria  voluit  procedere  palla ; 

urit,  seu  nivea  Candida  veste  venit. 
talis  in  aeterno  felix  Vertumnus  Olympo 

mille  habet  ornatus,  mille  decenter  habet. 
sola  puellarum  digna  est,  cui  mollia  caris 

vellera  det  sucis  bis  madefacta  Tyros, 


4.  miranti:  'as  you  gaze  in 
admiration.'  —  arma  cadant :  sev- 
eral ancient  works  of  art  represent 
Mars  thus  forgetful  of  all  but  the 
amorous  intentions  of  the  moment. 
Cf.  Baum.  Denk.,  p.  886. 

5.  oculis :  cf.  Propertius,  of 
Cynthia  (2,  3,  14)  :  oculi,ge/iii>iae, 
sidera  nostra,  faces. 

6.  geminas  lampadas  :  cf.  2,  6, 
16;  Prop.  3,  16,  16. 

8.  conponit   =  ornat. 

9.  solvit  crines  :  as  was  often 
the  case  in  the  retirement  of  the 
home;  cf.  i,  3,  91  ;  Prop.  2,  i,  7  : 
vidi  ad  frotttem  sparsos  errare 
capillos;  Ten  Haiit.  288  sq.  : 
ornataiii  ita  iiti  quae  oniantiir 
sibi,  nulla  mala  re  os  expolitant 
muliebri. 

10.  compsit :  as  was  more  ap- 
propriate when  she  appeared  in 
public  places.  — veneranda  :  '  ador- 
able,' in  the  slang  use  of  the  word. 


1 1 .  Tyria  :  for  outdoor  wear. 

12.  Candida:  for  indoor  use. 

13.  Vertumnus:  the  changing 
{verier e)  god  of  gardens  and 
fruits  exhibited  varying  phases  of 
beauty  as  the  seasons  advanced. 
Cf.  Prop.  4,  2,  a  poem  devoted  to 
this  god,  his  origin,  name,  and 
statue. 

14.  Cf.  Prop.  4,  2,  22 :  in 
quai/icu/nque-  voles  verte,  decor  us 
ero ;  Ovid,  A/n.  2,  5,  43  :  spectabat 
terrain  :  t  err  am  sped  are  decebat ; 
maesta  erat  in  vultu :  maesta  de- 
center  erat. 

16.  sucis  bis  madefacta : 
'  double-dyed.'  The  most  costly 
Tyrian  purple  was  thus  prepared 
(dibap/ia),  first  with  scarlet,  then 
with  \k\&  purpura.  Cf.  Hor.  Car. 
2,  i6,  35  :  te  bis  Afro  murice  tinc- 
tae  vestiunt  lanae  ;  Pliny,  JV.  H. 
9,  39,  137:  dibapha  tunc  dice- 
batur  quae  bis  tincta  esset. 


191 


ill 


TIBVLLI 


20 


possideatque,  metit  quidquid  bene  olentibus  arvis 

cultor  odoratae  dives  Arabs  segetis 
et  quascumque  niger  rubro  de  litore  gemmas 

proximus  eois  colligit  Indus  aquis. 
banc  vos,  Pierides,  festis  cantate  kalendis, 

et  testudinea  Phoebe  superbe  lyra. 
hoc  solemne  sacrum  multos  haec  sumet  in  annos ; 

dignior  est  vestro  nulla  puella  choro. 


Hue  ades  et  tenerae  morbos  expelle  puellae, 
hue  ades,  intonsa  Phoebe  superbe  coma. 

crede  mihi,  propera,  nee  te  iam,  Phoebe,  pigebit 
formosae  medicas  adplicuisse  manus. 

2.    23.   haec  sumet  F  hoc  sumet  0  sumat  w.      24.   vestro  0  festo  Cariault. 
choro  w  toro  G  thoro  AV. 


17.    Cf.  2,  2,  3-4;  3,  2,  23-24. 

19.  Cf.  2,  2,  15-16,  n.  — niger: 
cf.  2,  3,  55:  sint  comites  fusci, 
quos  India  torret. 

21.  Pierides:  'daughters  of 
Pieria'  =  Muses. 

22.  Cf.  4,  4.  2.  —  testudinea 
.  .  .  lyra :  which  Hermes  invented 
and  presented  to  Phoebus ;  cf. 
Prop.  4,  6,  32. 

23.  sacrum :  that  performed  by 
women  in  honor  of  Juno,  the 
mother  of  Mars,  on  the  feast  of 
the  Matronalia,  March  i,  his 
birthday.  —  haec  :  Sulpicia.  — 
sumet  :  '  shall  undertake.' 


4,  4 

Consolation  to  Cerinthus,  dur- 
ing Sulpicia's  illness. 


1-14:  'Help,  Phoebus!  Lay 
healing  hands  upon  Sulpicia,  and 
restore  her  to  her  anxious  lover. 
15-20:  Cerinthus,  your  fears  are 
groundless.  21-26:  Hear  my 
prayer,  Phoebus:  and  you  shall 
win  surpassing  praise.' 

1.  Hue  ades  :  cf.  i,  7.  49. 

2.  intonsa  :  i.e.  ever  youthful ; 
cf.  2,  5,  121  ;  I,  4,  37  :  solis  aeterna 
est  Baccho  Fhoeboqjie  iuventas : 
ftam  decet  intonsus  crinis  tdrum- 
qiie  deion.  —  Phoebe  superbe  :  cf. 
4,  2,  22. 

3.  propera:  the  imperative,  as 
commonly,  stands  in  the  relation 
of  protasis  to  the  following  verb 
(^pigebit). 

4.  medicas  .  .  .  manus  :  natu- 
rally the  god  who  sends  disease 
can  ward  it  off.     Cf.  H.&T.  §51. 


192 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV  [4,  26 

5       effice  ne  macies  pallentes  occupet  artus, 

neu  notet  informis  Candida  membra  color, 
et  quodcumque  malist  et  quidquid  triste  timemus, 

in  pelagus  rapidis  evehat  amnis  aquis. 
sancte,  veni,  tecumque  feras,  quicumque  sapores 
10  quicumque  et  cantus  corpora  fessa  levant : 

neu  iuvenem  torque,  metuit  qui  fata  puellae 
votaque  pro  domina  vix  numeranda  facit. 
interdum  vovet,  interdum,  quod  langueat  ilia, 
dicit  in  aeternos  aspera  verba  deos. 
15      pone  metum,  Cerinthe  :  deus  non  laedit  amantes. 

tu  modo  semper  ama  :  salva  puella  tibist. 
21      nil  opus  est  fletu  :  lacrimis  erit  aptius  uti, 

si  quando  fuerit  tristior  ilia  tibi. 
17      at  nunc  tota  tua  est,  te  solum  Candida  secum 
cogitat,  et  frustra  credula  turba  sedet. 
Phoebe,  fave  :  laus  magna  tibi  tribuetur  in  uno 
20  corpore  servato  restituisse  duos. 

23      iam  celeber,  iam  laetus  eris,  cum  debita  reddet 

certatim  Sanctis  laetus  uterque  focis. 
25      tum  te  felicem  dicet  pia  turba  deorum, 
optabunt  artes  et  sibi  quisque  tuas. 

4.    5.    pallentes  0  tabentes  Heinsius.       6.    Candida  (o  pallida  0  languida 
Rigler.       23.    laetus  0  lautus  Haupt  gratus  Martignon  lotus  Broukhusius. 

8.  in  pelagus:  cf.  2,  5,  80,  n.  18.    turba:  of  suitors. 

9.  sapores:   'medicines.'  20.    corpore  :*  life.'  —  restituisse 

10.  cantus  :  '  incantations.'  duos  :    cf.  Prop.   2,  28,  41  ;    Ovid, 

14.  aspera  verba  :  cf.  i,  3,  52.         Am.  2,  13,  15  :  hue  adhibe  vttltus, 

15.  Cf.  Prop.  3,  16,  II.  et  in  una  puree  duobus. 

21-22.    This  distich  has  clearly  23.    celeber  .  .  .  eris:  'thy  tem- 

been  misplaced  in  the  Mss.  pie  shall  be  thronged,'  and  there- 

22.   tristior:    cf.  Prop.  i.  6,  10.  fore,  as  a  derived  meaning, ' thou 

17.    Candida:  i.e.  in  heart,  'sin-  shalt  be  renowned';    cf.  2.  i,  83; 

cere.'  3,  2,  28. 

ROM.  EL.  POETS —  1 3  1 03 


6,   I] 


TIBVLLI 


lO 


Natalis  luno,  sanctos  cape  turis  acervos, 

quos  tibi  dat  tenera  docta  puella  manu. 
tota  tibi  est  hodie,  tibi  se  laetissima  compsit, 

staret  ut  ante  tuos  conspicienda  focos. 
ilia  quidem  ornandi  causas  tibi,  diva,  relegat: 

est  tamen,  occulte  cui  placuisse  velit. 
at  tu,  sancta,  fave,  neu  quis  divellat  amantes, 

sed  iuveni  quaeso  mutua  vincla  para, 
sic  bene  conpones :  ullae  non  ille  puellae 

servire  aut  cuiquam  dignior  ilia  viro. 
nee  possit  cupidos  vigilans  deprendere  custos, 

fallendique  vias  mille  ministret  Amor, 
adnue  purpureaque  veni  perlucida  palla : 


6.    3.    tota  0  lota  o>. 


4,  6 


On  Sulpicia's  birthday  the  poet 
wishes  for  her  the  fulfillment  of  her 
greatest  desire. 

1-4:  'Juno  of  Sulpicia,  may 
she  and  her  offerings  be  accepta- 
ble to  thee  this  day!  5-20:  She 
has  adorned  herself  ostensibly 
for  thee,  but  really  to  please  her 
lover ;  Juno,  they  are  both  worthy ; 
assist  her,  that  their  love  may  be 
mutual  and  may  triumph  over 
every  obstacle.' 

I.  Natalis  luno:  the  tutelary 
spirit  of  each  woman,  correspond- 
ing to  the  Genius  of  each  man, 
worshiped  especially  on  birthdays. 
a.   I,  7,  49;     H.  &T.  §   188.- 


sanctos:    the   adjective  really  be- 
longs with  turis. 

2.  docta :  cf.  note  on  Prop. 
I,  7,  11;  2,  13,  II;  Ovid,  TrisL 
3,  7,  31  ;   etc. 

5.  relegat :  '  ascribes,'  a  poetic 
meaning. 

6.  cui :  /.e.  Cerinthus. 

8.  vincla:  sc  Amoris. 

9.  sic  :  •  by  so  doing,'  refers  to 
the  previous  verse.  — ullae  =  jilli: 
the  only  instance  of  this  form  ;  cf. 
Prop.  I,  20,  35  :  nullae  pendebant 
debit  a  ctirae  .  .  .  poma  ;  3,  1 1,  57  : 
toto  .  .  .  jirbi. 

II.  nee:  correlative  with  -que 
in  V.  12. — possit:  optative. 

13.  The  vagueness  of  the  line 
of  demarcation  between  the  lady 


194 


ELEGIARVM    LII5KR    IV  [8,  5 

ter  tibi  fit  libo,  ter,  dea  casta,  mero ; 
15      praecipit  et  natae  mater  studiosa  quod  optat: 
ilia  aliud  tacita,  iam  sua,  mente  rogat. 
uritur,  ut  celeres  urunt  altaria  flammae, 
nee,  liceat  quamvis,  sana  fuisse  velit. 
sit  iuveni  grata,  et  veniet  cum  proximus  annus, 
20  hie  idem  votis  iam  vetus  adsit  amor. 

8 

Invisus  natalis  adest,  qui  rure  molesto 
et  sine  Cerintho  tristis  agendus  erit. 
dulcius  urbe  quid  est  ?  an  villa  sit  apta  puellae 
atque  Arretino  frigidus  amnis  agro  ? 
5       iam,  nimium  Messalla  mei  studiose,  quiescas, 

15.  praecipit  et  0  praecipit  en //ifz«52V«.  optat  0  optet  w.  19.  sit  iuveni 
(I)  si  iuveni  0  sis  iuveni  F  sis,  luno,  Gruppe.  grata  et  w  grata  0  gratae  Lach- 
tnann  grata  ut  Eberz  gratum  Rigler.  veniet  0  adveniet  «  vertet  Baehrens. 
20.  votis  0  vobis  CartauU.  adsit  «  esset  0  exstet  Cartault  (^suggested  by 
Baehrens). 

and   her  Juno  is  here  well  illus- 
trated. —  perlucida :    the    famous  '^' 
diaphanous  garments  of  Coan  silk,           For  the  authorship  of  this  and 

which  served  to  drape  rather  than  the  two  following  elegies,  see  Intr. 

to  conceal  a  graceful  form  and  fair  §  26.       In    a    poetic    billet-doux 

skin.  Sulplcia   protests    against   a  pro- 

14.  fit:  /.^.  sacrifice  is  offered.  posed  journey  with  Messalla  which 

15.  praecipit:  perhaps  a  whis-  will  take  her  away  from  Rome  on 
pered  suggestion.  —  optat:  sc.  the  birthday  of  her  lover  Cerin- 
mater.  She  may  have  picked  out  thus,  very  possibly  the  same  day 
a  rich  lover,  or  may  prefer  some  referred  to  in  4,  5. 

one  else  for  an  unknown  reason.  i.    molesto:  'tiresome.' 

16.  sua:      nom.;     '  independ-  3.    Qi.C\c.  Ad  Att.  ^,  \\,  \. — 
ently,'     'according    to    her    own  an  ...  sit :  cf.  2,  6,  2,  n. 
choice.'  5,    studiose :  Messalla  was  prob- 

18.    liceat:  sc  sana  fuisse.  ably  her  uncle,  and  may  well  have 

20.  iam  vetus :  and  so,  been  her  guardian  since  the  death 
stronger.  of  her  father. 


8,6] 


TIBVLLI 


non  tempestivae  saepe  propinque  viae, 
hie  animum  sensusque  meos  abducta  relinquo, 
arbitrio  quamvis  non  sinis  esse  meo. 


Scis  iter  ex  animo  sublatum  triste  puellae  ? 

natali  Romae  iam  licet  esse  tuo.  '     c  c  ^ 
omnibus  ille  dies  nobis  natalis  agatur, 

qui  nee  opinanti  nunc  tibi  forte  venit. 


I  I 

Estne  tibi,  Cerinthe,  tuae  pia  cura  puellae, 
quod  mea  nunc  vexat  corpora  fessa  calor? 

8.  6.  non  <>>  neu  0  seu  Cartaiilt.  saepe  0  saeve  Unger  perge  monere 
adopted  from  Baehrens  by  Hiller  tempestivast  sive  Cartault,  8.  quamvis  AV 
quoniam  G  quam  vis  Statins,     sinis  Osinit  Statins. 

9.  2.  tuo  OF  suo  0)  meo  Huschke.  3.  natalis  0  genialis  «  tarn  latt  us 
Baehrens.       4.    qui  0  quam  Baehrens  quod  Drenckhahn. 


6.  non  tempestivae  :  '  inoppor- 
tuoe  ' ;  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
young  lady.  —  saepe  propinque  : 
'prone  to  undertake  ' ;  an  odd  ex- 
pression, in  which  editors  discover 
a  feminine  style. 

7.  hie  :  at  Rome.  —  abducta  : 
with  concessive  force. 

8.  quamvis  :  a  characteristically 
feminine  petulance. 

4,  9 

The  journey  is  called  off,  she 
writes,  and  they  can  celebrate  at 
home  after  all. 

I.  Scis:  cf.  L.  1502.  —ex 
animo :  i.e.  it  has  ceased  to  be  a 
cause  for  anxiety. 


3.  omnibus :  in  youthful  exu- 
berance of  spirits  she  p'ans  a  family 
celebration. 

4.  qui :  i.e.  in  its  present 
phase,  with  the  unexpected  pres- 
ence of  Sulpicia,  and  a  general 
merrymaking,  it  will  be  almost  a 
surprise  party  for  Cerinthus. 

4,    II 

Sulpicia  is  ill  and  lonely.  In  a 
fit  of  the  blues  she  tells  Cerinthus 
that  if  he  doesn't  care  about  her 
suffering,  she  doesn't  care  to  re- 
cover.    Cf.  Cat.  38. 

1.  Estne:  Sulpicia  really  hopes 
for  an  affirmative  answer.  Cf.  L. 
1504. 


196 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   IV 


[13.  2 


ah  ego  non  aliter  tristes  evincere  morbos 
optarim,  quam  te  si  quoque  velle  putem. 

at  mihi  quid  prosit  morbos  evincere,  si  tu 
nostra  potes  lento  pectore  ferre  mala  ? 


13 

Nulla  tuum  nobis  subducet  femina  lectum  : 
hoc  primum  iuncta  est  foedere  nostra  Venus. 

11.    5.    at  F  Ha  A  Ah  V  an  Cartault  cum  w.     quid  A  quod  w.     si  u. 


o.*-*-*-^^  2.  quod  .  .  .  vexat :  the  reason 
is  Sulpicia's ;  perhaps  Cerinthus 
does  not  know  the  situation.  — 
calor :  'fever.' 

3.  non  aliter :  '  under  no  other 
conditions.' 

4.  optarim  .  .  .  putem  :  a  mere 
possibility. — te  .  .  .  velle:  note 
the  emphatic  position  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

6.    lento:    cf.  2.  6,  36,  n.      He 
•    would  surely  be  a  lover  '  slow  of 
heart'  that  would  not  be  moved 
by  such  an  appeal  as  this! 

Addressed  to  an  unknown  lady, 
possibly  the  '  Glycera  '  mentioned 
by  Horace,  Car.  i,  33,  1-3:  Albi, 
ne  doleas plus  nimio  »iemor  inmitis 
Glyceiae,  neii  rniserabilis  decantes 
elegos.  The  perfection  of  form, 
the  characteristic  mannerisms  and 
sentiments,  and  the  beautiful  sim- 
plicity and  intensity  of  its  spirit 
of  devotion,  mark  it  as  a  certainly 


genuine  poem  of  Tibulius.  (Cf. 
Magnus  in  Bursian's  JB.,  Vol.  51 
(1887),  p.  359.  For  the  opposite 
view  cf.  Postgate,  Sel.,  Appendix 
C.)  The  composite  character  and 
authorship  of  this  fourth  book  of 
the  Tibulius  collection  permits  us 
only  to  conjecture  to  what  original 
series  of  elegies  this  gem  may 
have  belonged. 

1-4 :  '  Thou  only  in  my  eyes  art 
fair.  5-16:  May  thy  beauty  not 
appeal  to  others;  my  love  needs 
not  the  stimulus  of  envy  ;  thou  art 
my  all  in  all — so  swear  I  by 
great  Juno.  17-24  :  Foolish  oath  ! 
Henceforth  I'm  at  thy  mercy.  Yet 
will  I  ever  faithful  be,  and  pray  for 
Venus's  favor.' 

1.  subducet:  < steal  away.'  — 
lectum :  i.e.  amoretn.  Cf.  the 
similar  use  of  \i\o'i  and  kUrpov 
by  the  Greeks  for  '  wife ' ;  this 
same  form  of  usage  occurs,  e.g. 
29  times  in  the  Helena  of  Eurip- 
ides. 

2.  iuncta  est:  cf.  i,  i,  69. 


197 


13.  3] 


TIBVLLI 


lO 


tu  mihi  sola  places,  nee  iam  te  praeter  in  urbe 

formosa  est  oculis  ulla  puella  meis. 
atque  utinam  posses  uni  mihi  bella  videri ! 

displiceas  aliis :  sic  ego  tutus  ero. 
nil  opus  invidia  est,  procul  absit  gloria  vulgi : 

qui  sapit,  in  tacito  gaudeat  ille  sinu. 
sic  ego  secretis  possum  bene  vivere  silvis, 

qua  nulla  humano  sit  via  trita  pede. 
tu  mihi  curarum  requies,  tu  nocte  vel  atra 

lumen,  et  in  solis  tu  mihi  tuiba  locis. 
nunc  licet  e  caelo  mittatur  amica  TibuUo, 

mittetur  frustra,  deficietque  Venus. 


13.   8.   ille  «  ipse  0. 


3.  Cf.  Prop.  2,  7,  19:  tu  mihi 
sola  places :  placeam  tibi,  Cynthia., 
solus;  Ovid,  A.  A.\,  ^2:  elige  cui 
dicas  '  tu  viihi  sola  places.'' 

4.  formosa:  cf.  Cat.  86. 

6.  sic:  'only  in  that  case."  — 
ero:  the  rapid  increase  of  hope,  as 
Tibullus  dwells  on  the  thought, 
is  expressed  by  the  changing 
tenses  and  moods  :  posses  (impos- 
sible), displiceas  (possible),  ero 
(probable,  taken  for  granted). 

7.  opus  :  sc.  7nihi.  —  gloria  : 
sc.  tiia. 

8.  Cf.  Prop.  2,  25,  30  :  in  tacito 
cohibe  gaudia  clausa  sinu;  Ne- 
methy,  pp.  297,  339. 

9.  sic :  i.e.  if  safe  in  the  pos- 
session of  thy  love. 

II.  Cf.  Prop.  I.  II,  23-24; 
Horn.   //.  6,  429-430 : 

'ExTop.  drap  (tv  jiol  ecrat  irarrjp  /cat 
TTorvia  fXT^Trjp, 


rjSk  KucrtyvT^TOS,  crv  Si  fioi  paXepos 
TrapaKotrr;?' 

A  similar  mood  appears  in 
Shakespeare,  Sonnets,  91  :  "  Thy 
love  is  better  than  high  birth  to 
me,  Richer  than  wealth,  prouder 
than  garments'  cost,  Of  more  de- 
light than  hawks  or  horses  be  :  And 
having  thee,  of  all  men's  pride  I 
boast."  43  :  "  All  days  are  nights 
to  see  till  I  see  thee.  And  nights 
bright  days  when  dreams  do  show 
thee  me."  112:  '"  You  are  my  all 
the  world." 

13.  e  caelo:  i.e.  even  a  god- 
dess.—Tibullo :  the  use  of  his 
own  name  emphasizes  the  con- 
trast between  his  humble  self 
(poor  Tibullus)  and  the  divine 
mistress  from  the  skies.  Cf.  Hor. 
Sat.  2,  I,  18:  Flacci  verba  per 
attentam     non      ibunt      Caesaris 


aurem. 


IQ8 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    IV 


[13.24 


'5 


20 


hoc  tibi  sancta  tuae  lunonis  numina  iuro, 

quae  sola  ante  alios  est  mihi  magna  deos. 
quid  facio  demens  ?  heu  heu  mea  pignora  cedo. 

iuravi  stulte  :  proderat  iste  timor. 
nunc  tu  fortis  eris,  nunc  tu  me  audacius  ures : 

hoc  peperit  misero  garrula  lingua  malum, 
iam  faciam  quodcumque  voles,  tuus  usque  manebo, 

nee  fugiam  notae  servitium  dominae, 
sed  Veneris  sanctae  considam  vinctus  ad  aras. 

haec  notat  iniustos  supplicibusque  favet. 

15.   hoc  A  hec  V. 


15.  lunonis:  cf.  4,  6,  i,  n. — 
numina :  the  omission  of  per 
occurs  mostly  in  the  poets. 

17.  pignora:  i.e.  iste  timor  of 
V.  18  ('that  anxiety  of  yours' 
for  fear  of  losing  my  affection), 
which  acts  as  a  safeguard  to  your 
constancy. 


19.  nunc :  '  now '  that  I  have 
declared  myself  thus. 

23.  vinctus  :  as  a  willing  slave. 

24.  notat:  cf.  i,  8,  5:  ipsa 
Venus  magi  CO  religatum  bracchia 
nodo  perdocuit  multis  non  sine 
verberibus. 


fgg 


PROPERTIUS   MSS.   SIGNS 

N  =  Codex  Neapolitanus  (or  Guelferbytanus). 
A  =  Codex  Vossianus  (ends  with  2,  I,  63). 
F  =  Codex  Laurentianus  (or  Florentiiius). 
L  =  Codex  Holkhamicus  (begins  with  2,  21,  3). 
D  =  Codex  Daventriensis  (bej^ins  with  i,  2,  14). 
V  =  Codex  Ottoboniano-Vaticanus. 

0  =  consensus  of  the  foregoing,  as  a  rule,  of  all,  so  far  as  extant. 
Ni,  N2,  N3,  N4,  Ai,  Ao,  etc.,  =  the   ist,  2d,  3d,  etc.,  hands  in  the  respec- 
tive  Mss. 

o>  =  late  or  inferior  Mss..  or  corrections. 


200 


SEXTI  PROPERTI 

ELEGIARVM 
LIBER    PRIMVS 

Cynthia  prima  suis  miserum  me  cepit  ocellis, 

contactum  nullis  ante  cupidinibus. 
turn  mihi  constantis  deiecit  lumina  fastus 


Apparently  written  as  an  intro- 
duction to  this  "Cynthia  Mo- 
nobiblos." 

1-8:  'Cynthia  was  the  first 
woman  to  bring  me  to  her  feet. 
9-18:  Milanion  won  Atalanta  by 
persistence  and  by  enduring  hard- 
ships for  her  sake  ;  but  Cupid  has 
failed  to  teach  me  to  succeed. 
ig-28 :  I  would  resort  to  any- 
thing to  rid  myself  of  my  anguish, 
magic  rites  to  win  the  affections 
of  my  mistress,  or  heroic  treat- 
ment to  be  free  from  her  power. 
29-38 :  Bear  me  away,  friends, 
where  no  woman  can  ever  come ; 
remain,  you  who  are  well  matched, 
but  see  that  you  escape  the  torture 
under  which  I  suffer,  or  you  will 
wish    you  had  heeded  my  warn- 


Note    the    riming    endings    of 


the  two  halves  of  vv.  I,  6,  7, 
8,  12,  etc.;  for  other  metrical 
features  cf  Intr.  §42. 

1.  Cynthia:  cf.  Intr.  §  23- 
This  first  word  furnishes  a  correct 
keynote  to  the  whole  book.  — 
prima :  only  in  the  usual  sense 
of  lover's  protestations;  cf.  3,  15, 
3-6.  Propertius.  however,  doubt- 
less never  had  been  so  completely 
enthralled  by  any  other  mistress. 
—  ocellis  =  ocuh's ;  not  at  all  a 
fond  lover's  diminutive ;  Proper- 
tius  is    not  in  a  flattering  mood. 

2.  ante :  used  as  an  adjective. 
Cf.  I,  22,  2,  n. 

3-4 :  Cupid  is  represented  as 
engaging  in  an  actual  struggle 
with  the  poet,  as  in  an  arena, 
wherein  the  victor's  success  is 
marked  by  the  actions  indicated 
by  deiecit  and  pressit.  —  constantis 
.  .  .fastus:  gen.  of  description; 
his  former  pride  is  now  broken- 


201 


-A    1 


I,  4] 


PROPERTI 


et  caput  inpositis  pressit  Amor  pedibus, 
5        donee  me  docuit  castas  odisse  puellas 
inprobus  et  nullo  vivere  consilio  : 
et  mihi  iam  toto  furor  hie  non  deficit  anno, 
cum  tamen  adversos  cogor  habere  deos. 
Milanion  nullos  fugiendo,  Tulle,  labores 
lo  saevitiam'  durae  contudit  lasidos. 

nam  modo  Partheniis  amens  errabat  in  antris, 

ibat  et  hirsutas  ille.  videre  feras  :      _  ^ 

ille  eti'am  Hylaei  percussus  vulnere  rami 
saucius  Arcadiis  rupibus  ingemuity 
15      ergo  velocem  potuit  domuisse  puellam  : 

tantum  in  amore  preces  et  benefacta  valent. 
in  me  tardus  Amor  non  ullas  cogitat  artes, 
nee  meminit  notas,  ut  prius,  ire  vias. 


6.  inprobus:  'the  naughty 
wretch.'  —  nullo  vivere  consilio  : 
i.e.  a  reckless  life  of  wantonness. 

7.  mihi :  emphatic ;  the  case 
may  be  different  with  Cynthia. — 
anno:  this  is  apparently  written  at 
the  end  of  a  year  of  enforced  sep- 
aration from  Cynthia,  perhaps  that 
referred  to  in  3,  16,  g. 

8.  cum :  concessive,  with  the 
indicative  mood;  cf.  H.  599,  i. 

9.  Tulle:  cf.  I,  6,  Intr. 

10.  lasidos :  Atalanta  of  Ar- 
cadia (not  to  be  confused  with 
the  Boeotian  heroine  of  the  same 
name),  whose  suitor  was  Milan- 
ion. 

11.  modo :  we  should  expect  a 
corresponding  modo  in  v.  13, 
where  etiam  is  substituted.  —  Par- 
theniis :   the  slopes  of  Mt.  Parthe- 


nium  (or  Parthenius)  were  on  the 
border  between  Arcadia  and  Ar- 
golis. — antris  :  a  popular  word 
with  Propertius,  with  rather  vague 
signification  ;  cf.  i,  2,  1 1  ;  4,  4,  3  ; 
not  found  in  Tibullus. 

12.  videre  :  purpose  inf.  ;   cf.  i, 

6,33- 

13.  Hylaei :  probably  an  adjec- 
tive. Hylaeus  was  a  centaur.  — 
rami :  centaurs  are  represented  as 
using  rude  clubs  for  weapons  ;  the 
more  hasty  their  preparation,  the 
more  nearly  would  these  clubs  ap- 
proximate the  unformed  branch 
of  a  tree. 

15.  domuisse:  cf.  Tib.  i,  i, 
29,  n. 

17.  in  me:  'in  my  case.'  — 
tardus  :  belongs  closely  with  cogi- 
tat;  'is  slow  to  think  of.' 


202 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I  [i,  35 

at  vos,  deductae  quibus  est  fallacia  lunae 
20  et  labor  in  magicis  sacra  piare  focis, 

en  agedum  dominae  mentem  convertite  nostrae, 

et  facite  ilia  meo  palleat  ore  magis. 
tunc  ego  crediderim  vobis  et  sidera  et  amnes 
posse  Cytaeines  ducere  carminibus. 
25      aut  vos,  qui^ero  lapsum  revocatis,  amici, 

quaerite  non  sani  pectoris  auxilia.  '^ 

fortiter  et  ferrum,  saevos  patiemur  et  ignes, 
''        sit  modo  libertas  quae  velit  ira  loqui. 

ferte  per  extremas  gentes  et  ferte  per  undas, 
30  qua  non  ulla  meum  femina  norit  iter. 

vos  remanete,  quibus  facili  deus  adnuit  aure, 

sitis  et  in  tuto  semper  amore  pares. 
in  me  nostra  Venus  noctes  exercet  amaras, 
et  nullo  vacuus  tempore  defit  amor. 
35      hoc,  moneo,  vitate  malum  :   sua  quemque  moretur 

1.  24.  Cytaeines  or  Cytaines  Hertzherg  Cytaeinis  (o  Cythalinis  N  Cytalinis 
V  Citalinis  F  Cythainis  No  Cytaeaeis  Guyetus.  25.  aut  Hemsterhusius  at  F2 
et  0.       T)},.    noctes  0  voces  Postgate. 

19.    fallacia  :  '  the  pretense  ' ;  a  25.    lapsum:    '  a  ruined  man.' 

common  one;  cf.  2,  28,  37  ;   Hor.  26.    non:     'no     longer.'  —  au- 

Epod.    5,   45  ;    Verg.    Ec.    8,    69 :  xilia  :  '  remedy.' 
carmina    vel    caelo    possunt    de-  27.    ferrum  .  .  .  ignes :    the  sur- 

ducere  Lunam.  geon's    knife,    or   the   physician's 

22.  palleat:  a   common   token  cauterization. 

of  being  in  love.     The  masks  in  28.    loqui :     for     the    inf.    with 

ancient  comedy  are  said  to  have  libertas,  cf.  3,  15,  4:  data  libertas 

represented  lovers  thus.  noscere  amoris  iter. 

23.  \\xx\c  —  si  id  feceritis.  32.   tuto:    'faithful';    cf.  Hor. 

24.  posse:  the  expected  sub-  Car.  1,27,  18:  depone  tidis  auri- 
ject,   vos,   is  found  in  the  dative  bus.  —  pares:   'well-mated.' 

with     crediderim. —  Cytaeines  =  33.   in  me  :  cf.  v.  17. — nostra: 

Medea,  who  was  born  at  Cytae;  she  cf.    nobis,    i,    12,    2.  — exercet: 

is  the  typical  witch.     The  form  is  '  makes  restless.' 
a  patronymic.  34.    vacuus:  'unsatisfied.' 

203 


h  36] 


PROPERTI 


cura,  neque  adsueto  mutet  amore  locum, 
quod  siquis  monitis  tardas  adverterit  aures, 
heu  referet  quantq  verba  dolore  mea ! 


Quid  iuvat  ornato  procedere,  vita,  capillo 
et  tenues  Coa  veste  movere  sinus, 

aut  quid  Orontea  crines  perfundere  murra, 
teque  peregrinis  vendere  muneribus, 

naturaeque  decus  mercato  perdere  cultu, 
nee  sinere  in  propriis  membra  nitere  bonis  ? 


36.   cura  =  arnica',      frequently      cf.  B.  G..  p.  739;  Baum.,  pp.  619, 
so;  cf.  Verg.  Ec.  10,  22:  tna  cura       792.  —  procedere:      'appear,'    i.e. 


Lycoris ;    Ovid,    A/n.    3,    9,   32;       to  "show  off";  cf.  Tib.  4,  2,  11 
Piclion  s.v. 

38.    referet :  '  recall.' 


Hor.    Epod.   4,    7-8.  —  vita:    cf. 


I,  2 


1-6:  'Why  prefer  borrowed 
finery  to  your  native  beauty,  Cyn- 
thia? 7-24:  Neither  Cupid  him- 
self, nor  the  flowers  and  birds, 
nor  the  heroines  of  the  olden  days 
have  ever  done  so.  25-32:  Surely 
you  do  not  think  me  less  worthy 
than  the  lovers  of  those  days ;  if 
you  are  perfect  in  one  lover's 
eyes,  it  is  enough  ;  of  course  you 
are ;  for  have  you  not  all  the  gifts 
bestowed  by  Phoebus,  Venus,  and 
Minerva?' 

I.  ornato  .  .  .  capillo:  for  the 
highly  artificial  methods  of  wear- 
ing and  adorning  the  hair  at  Rome, 

204 


Cat.  109,  I. 

2.  Coa  .  .  .  sinus :  '  rustle  the 
delicate  folds  of  your  Coan  robe ' 
(C.  S.).  These  notorious  gauzy 
silken  fabrics  were  adopted  to  re- 
veal rather  than  conceal  the  per- 
son of  their  wearer.  Cf.  2,  i,  5-6; 
Tib.  2,  3,  53. 

3.  Orontea :  i.e.  from  Antioch 
on  the  Orontes,  an  important 
center  of  this  trade. 

4.  te :  the  emphasis  is  on  this 
word :  '  to  sell  (exchange)  your 
own  sweet  self  for  foreign-bought 
adornments.'  The  idea  is  repeated 
under  different  forms  in  vv.  5 
and  6. 

L.  1492. 
.    .   bonis  :  '  nat- 


5.  mercato 

6.  propriis 
ural  charms.' 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[2.    »7 


lO 


15 


crede  mihi,  non  ulla  tuae  est  medicina  figurae : 

nudus  Amor  formae  non  amat  artificem. 
adspice  quos  submittat  humus  formosa  colores, 

ut  veniant  hederae  sponte  sua  melius, 
surgat  et  in  solis  formosius  arbutus  antris, 

et  sciat  indociles  currere  lympha  vias. 
litora  nativis  persuadent  picta  lapillis, 

et  volucres  nulla  dulcius  arte  canunt. 
non  sic  Leucippis  succendit  Castora  Phoebe, 

Pollucem  cultu  non  Hilafra  soror, 
non  Idae  et  cupido  quondam  discordia  Phoebo 


2.  7.  tuae  est  DV  tua  est  ( 
Lachmann.  10.  ut  Itali  et  0. 
u  praefulgent  Baehrens  praelucent  Hertzberg, 


tuaest  ?)  AFN.       9.    quos  0  quot  a>  quo 
"3.    persuadent  0  persudant  Vo  collucent 


7.  medicina  figurae  :  /.^.  it  can- 
not be  improved  upon. 

8.  nudus  Amor:  the  highest 
type  of  beauty,  and  therefore  in 
need  of  no  artificial  adornment. 

9.  Cf.  Matt.  6,  28-29 :  "  Con- 
sider the  Hlies,"  etc. 

10.  veniant :  '  come,'  in  the 
sense  of '  shoot,'  or  '  grow,'  is  good 
English  ;  cf.  Cent.  Diet.  s.v.  4 ; 
Verg.  Georg.  2,  11  ;   i,  54. 

11.  antris:  here  nearly  equal 
\.o  coiivallibus  (C.  S.)  ;  cf.  i,  i,  11, 
n.  Did  Gray  have  this  in  mind 
in  the  Elegy,  54 :  "  The  dark, 
unfathom'd  caves  of  ocean  bear: 
Full  many  a  flower  is  born  to 
blush  unseen,"  etc? 

12.  indociles :  antithetic  with 
sciat  (C.  S.)  ;  it  here  =  noti  doctas, 
a  ttTra^  Aeyo/xevov-  Cf-  Cic  Acad. 
2,  I,  2. 


13.  persuadent :  used  abso- 
lutely; 'allure,'  it  may  be  to  wan- 
der along  the  beach,  it  may  be  to 
slumber;  cf.  Hor.  Epod.  2,  25-28. 
Note  the  admirable  onomatopo- 
etic  alliteration  of  the  verse.  Cf. 
Ovid,  A»t.  2,  II,  13:  nee  viedius 
teiiitis  conchas  pictosqne  lapillos 
pontus  habet :  bibuli  litoris  ilia 
niorast. 

14.  nulla  .  .  .  arte :  *  because 
art  is  lacking'  (C.  S.).  The  abl. 
abs.  expresses  the  cause. 

15.  sic:  explained  by  the 
epexegetical  cultu  in  v.  16.  — 
The  two  daughters  of  Leucippus, 
Phoebe  and  Hilaira,  having  been 
betrothed  to  Lynceus  and  Idas, 
were  carried  off  by  Castor  and 
Pollux  (C.  S.). 

17.  non:  i.e.  non  sic.  —  discor- 
dia.    See  Harper's  Lex.  s.v.  B.  i. 


205 


2,    18  J 


/ 


PROPERTI 


20 


25 


Eueni  patriis  filia  litoribus, 
nee  Phrygiuni  falso  traxit  eandore  maritum 

aveeta  externis  Hippodamia  rotis  : 
sed  facies  aderat  nuUis  obnoxia  gemmis, 

qualis  Apelleis  est  color  in  tabulis. 
?  non  illis  studium  vulgo  conquirere  amantes : 

illis  ampla  satis  forma  pudicitia. 
non  ego  nunc  vereor  ne  sim  tibi  vilior  istis : 


<StvO 


i8.  Eueni  .  .  .  filia:  Marpessa, 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  wo- 
men of  her  age,  was  the  wife  of 
Idas.  Apollo  seized  and  carried 
her  off.  Idas  pursued  him,  and 
Zeus  sent  Hermes  to  settle  the 
quarrel.  He  gave  IVIarpe.ssa  her 
choice  between  the  rivals,  and  she 
chose  Idas.  Her  father,  discon- 
solate from  her  loss,  threw  himself 
into  the  Lycormas  River,  which 
thenceforth  took  his  name  (C.  S.). 

19.  Phrygium  .  .  .  maritum : 
Pelops,  see  H.  &  T.  §  130.  —  falso : 
'artificial'  (C.  S.).  —  traxit:  see 
Lex.  S.7J.  2,  A.  I. 

20.  aveeta :  /.f.  carried  back 
home  to  Pisa  to  be  the  bride  of 
Pelops .  -  -  externis  :  '  a  stranger's,' 
i.e.  Pelops's.  Cf.  2,  32,  31  :  Ty/i- 
daris  externa  patriam  Jiuitavit 
amore.  Ovid,  in  his  imitative 
passage  {A.  A.  2,  8),  uses  an  epi- 
thet less  harsh  :  vecta  peregrinis 
Hippodamia  rotis. 

21.  facies:  'beauty';  cf.  Ovid, 
A.  A.  3,  105  :  cura  dabit  faciem. 
—  obnoxia:  'indebted  '  (C  S.). 

22.  Apelleis  .  .  .  tabulis:  the 
subjects  of  Apelles's  paintings 
were  usually  nude.      The  natural 


richness  of  the  complexion  {color) 
was  brought  out  in  his  portraits, 
hence  the  force  of  the  comparison. 
Aphrodite  coming  forth  from  the 
sea  was  his  masterpiece,  and  the 
admiration  of  all  antiquity.    Cf.  3, 

9,  II. 

23.  non  illis  studium  (sc. 
erat):  the  reason  follows  in'  v. 
24. 

24.  forma  =  facies  in  v.  21. — 
With  this  whole  passage  cf.  Sen. 
CoHs.  ad  Hehnam,  chap.  16,  a 
passage  which  was  evidently  an 
outgrowth  of  this  poem  :  non  te 
viaximuin  saecidi  malum,  in- 
pudicitia,  in  numerum  pliiriian 
adduxit :  non  gemmae  te,  non 
margaritae  fiexerunt.  .  .  .  non 
faciem  coloribus  ac  lenociniis  pol- 
luisti :  nnmqtiam  tibi  plaaatvestis, 
quae  nihil  amplius  nudaret,  cum 
poneretur ;  unicum  tibi  orua- 
tnentum  pulcherri7na  et  nullt 
obnoxia  aetati  forma,  maximum 
decus  visa  est  pudicitia. 

25.  non  ego  nunc  vereor:  cf.  i, 
6,  I  ;  I,  ig,  I. — tibi:  'in  your 
eyes.'  Cf.  i,  8,  2.  —  istis  refers 
to  amantes  (v.  23),  for  whom  those 
heroines  disdained  to  prink. 


206 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[6,  2 


uni  siqua  placet,  culta  puella  sat  est ; 
cum  tibi  praesertim  Phoebus  sua  carmina  doiiet 

Aoniamque  libens  Calliopea  lyram, 
unica  nee  desit  iucundis  gratia  verbis, 

omnia  quaeque  Venus  quaeque  Minerva  probat. 
his  tu  semper  eris  nostrae  gratissima  vitae, 

taedia  dum  miserae  sint  tibi  luxuriae. 


er 


Non  ego  nunc  Hadriae  vereor  mare  noscere  tecum, 
Tulle,  neque  Aegaeo  ducere  vela  salo. 


26.  I.e.  let  this  rather  be  your 
conviction. 

27.  cum  tibi  praesertim  :  '  and 
this  is  especially  true  in  your  case, 
for,'  etc.  —  carmina  :  '  power  of 
song.'  Cf.  Pott's  Lat.  Prose  Comp., 
p-  32  (C.  S.). 

28.  Aoniam :  i.e.  Boeotian,  of 
the  land  of  Helicon  and  the  Muses, 
among  whom  Calliope  holds  the 
first  place.  Cf.  Milton's  Par.  Lost, 
I,  14  :  ''to  soar  above  the  Aonian 
mount."  —  Calliopea  :  this  form 
occurs  in  Vergil  and  Ovid;  also, 
cf.  3,  3»  38,  n. 

29.  verbis :  sc.  tuts.  Proper- 
tius  often  refers  to  the  fact  that 
Cynthia  was  a  docta  puella.  Cf 
I,  7r  II'  n- 

30.  Sc.  adsint;zi.  4,  i,  17-19. 
There  are  several  examples  of  this 
sort  of  brachyology  in  Propertius. 
—  Minerva:  in  her  capacity  as 
patroness  of  feminine  handiwork. 

31.  nostrae  .  .  .  vitae:  more 
emphatic  than  nobis  would  be. 
Cf.  Plaut.  Men.  675  :  aetati  tiiae. 


I,    6 


The  reason  why  Propertius  can- 
not accept  the  invitation  of  Tullus 
to  accompany  him  to  the  East. 
The  same  Tullus,  to  whom  this 
first  book  of  Propertius  is  dedi- 
cated, and  who  appears  to  have 
been  a  most  intimate  friend,  is  ad- 
dressed also  in  I,  I,  9;  14,  20; 
22,  I  ;  3,  22,  2.  He  is  believed 
to  have  been  a  nephew  of  L.  Vol- 
catius  Tullus,  and  had  doubtless 
asked  Propertius  to  go  with  him 
to  Asia  in  his  uncle's  train.  As 
the  latter  was  consul  in  33  B.C. 
and,  according  to  the  Lex  Pompeia 
de  iure  magistratuum,  a.  provincial 
command  could  not  be  assumed 
till  five  years  after  the  end  of  the 
year  of  office,  the  date  of  his  de- 
parture for  the  East,  and  of  this 
poem,  was  probably  about  27  B.C. 

The  obvious  similarity  of  the 
theme  to  that  of  Tibullus  i,  i, 
serves  to  emphasize  the  differences 
between  the  poets  and  their  loves. 


207 


6,  3] 


PROPERTI 


cum  quo  Rhipaeos  possim  conscendere  montes, 
ulteriusque  domos  vadere  Memnonias  : 

sed  me  conplexae  remorantur  verba  puellae, 
mutatoque  graves  saepe  colore  preces. 

ilia  mihi  totis  argutat  noctibus  ignes, 


Tibullus  does  not  wish  to  leave 
home  and  Delia  ;  Propertius,  with 
a  sigh,  admits  that  he  dare  not 
meet  the  tirade  of  reproaches  with 
which  Cynthia  would  inevitably 
receive  the  announcement  of  such 
a  purpose.  These  early  poems  of 
the  Cynthia  book  suffice  to  show 
that  Propertius  already  felt  the 
attachment  often  a  grievous  bur- 
den, yet  one  which  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  lay  down ;  a 
situation  in  many  respects  similar 
to  that  existing  between  Catullus 
and  Lesbia. 

1-6:  'Not  the  dangers  of  the 
deep,  but  the  words  of  my  mistress 
hold  me  back,  Tullus,  from  sailing 
with  you.  7-18  :  Her  complaints 
are  unendurable ;  I  would  rather 
give  up  seeing  the  wonders  of  the 
world  than  risk  them.  19-24: 
Go  !  win  your  spurs ;  for  Cupid 
has  not  yet  aimed  his  shafts  at 
you.  25-30 :  But  I  am  not  for 
deeds  of  glory.  31-36:  "Where'er 
you  go,  forget  not  my  unlucky 
star!' 

1.  vereor:  of  the  awesome  re- 
spect the  Romans  often  expressed 
for  the  sea.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  3; 
Luc.  3,  193  sqq. ;  Petron.  (Baeh- 
rens  PLM.,  Vol.  4,  p.  94). 

2.  ducere  vela  =  navigare. — 
salo  :  a  favorite  word  with  Proper- 


tius ;   cf.  I,  15,  12;  3,  13,  6;  3,  7, 
40.     Poetic  abl.  of  place. 


3.    cum  quo 


possim :   '  for 


with  thee  I  could.' — Rhipaeos: 
the  mention  of  the  extreme  regions 
of  cold  and  heat  is  frequently  par- 
alleled in  the  poets  of  this  age,  e.g. 
Hor.  Car.  i,  22,  17-24.  Cf. 
Cat.  II,  1-14. 

4.  ulterius  :  the  narrowness  of 
the  line  distinguishing  adverb  and 
preposition  is  well  illustrated  in 
this  use  of  the  comp.  adv.  for  the 
positive  ultra  as  a  preposition 
with  ace.  —  domos  .  .  .  Mem- 
nonias:  i.e.  Aethiopia. 

5.  Cf.    Tib.  I,  I,  55. 

6.  mutato  .  .  .  colore:  per- 
haps the  best  commentary  is  I,  15, 
39 :  quis  te  cogebat  multos  pallere 
coloresy  referring  to  alternating 
blushes  and  pallor.  Cf.  i,  18,  17. 
—  saepe  belongs  to  tmitato. 

7.  ilia :  note  the  eager  repeti- 
tion of  the  pronoun,  in  contrast 
with  the  personal  pronouns  with 
which  this  short  poem  abounds.  — 
totis  .  .  .  noctibus :  duration  of 
time.  —  argutat :  an  impatient  and 
not  very  gallant  term.  The  verb 
is  usually  deponent  and  intransi- 
tive, but  here  has  ignes  {i.e. 
ai)iorei)i)  as  an  object.  Cf.  Verg. 
Aen.  4,  2  ;  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  45  : 
saepe  suos  solitus  recitare  Proper- 


208 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[6,  20 


to 


15 


20 


et  queritur  nullos  esse  relicta  deos : 
ilia  meam  mihi  iam  se  denegat :  ilia  minatur, 

quae  solet  ingrato  tristis  arnica  viro. 
his  ego  non  horam  possum  durare  querellis : 

ah  pereat,  siquis  lentus  amare  potest ! 
an  mihi  sit  tanti  doctas  cognoscere  Athenas 

atque  Asiae  veteres  cernere  divitias, 
ut  mihi  deducta  faciat  convicia  puppi 

Cynthia  et  insanis  ora  notet  manibus, 
osculaque  opposite  dicat  sibi  debita  vento, 

et  nihil  infido  durius  esse  viro  ? 
tu  patrui  meritas  conare  anteire  secures, 

et  Vetera  oblitis  iura  refer  sociis : 


6.    10.    ingrato  Itali  irato  0. 


tins  ignes ;    Novius,  Exodio  apiid 
Non.     (Mueller,   p.    376)  :    totiim 
diem  argutatus  quasi  cicada. 
8.    Cf.  3,  7,  18. 

11.  his  .  .  .  querellis:  dat. 
vi'iih  durare  {=  durus  esse),  'be 
insensible  to.' 

12.  lentus  :  '  unresponsive.'  Cf. 
Ovid,  Her.  15,  169:  amor 
tetigit  lends sima  Pyrrhae  pectora. 
This  verse  gives  the  key  to  the 
career  of  Propertius. 

13.  doctas:  a  natural  epithet; 
cf.  3,  21,  I. 

15.  deducta:  the  ships  were 
drawn  up  on  the  shore  in  winter, 
and  launched  again  when  a  journey 
was  to  begin.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  i, 
4,  2  :  trahuntqtie  siccus  machitiae 
carinas. 

16.  ora  notet  manibus  :  cf.  Tib. 
I,  I,  68;   10,  37. 


17.  opposite  :  ie.  she  may  tell 
her  grievance  to  the  wind  that 
blows  in  her  face,  perhaps  as  she 
gazes  after  the  vanishing  ship  that 
bears  away  her  lover.  —  debita  : 
still  '  due  '  from  her  lover. 

ig.  tu,  like  the  tua  in  v.  21 
and  the  tibi  in  v.  23,  serves  to  em- 
phasize the  contrast  with  ?ne  in  v. 
25.  Cf  the  thought  with  Tib.  i,  i, 
53-55.  —  patrui:  see  introduction 
to  this  poem.  —  meritas:  a  com- 
plimentary epithet.  —  anteire : 
'  surpass.' — secures  :  i.e.  the  great- 
ness which  the  official  axes  sym- 
bolized. 

20.  Vetera  .  .  .  iura :  many 
Asiatic  peoples  had  formerly  been 
true  to  their  Roman  allies,  before 
the  political  anarchy  which  for  a 
time  intervened  during  the  civil 
wars.  • 


ROM.  EL.  POETS  —  I4 


209 


6,    21 1 


PROPERTI 


nam  tua  non  aetas  umquam  cessavit  amori, 

semper  at  armatae  cura  fuit  patriae, 
et  tibi  non  umquam  nostros  puer  iste  labores 

adferat  et  lacrimis  omnia  nota  meis. 
25      me  sine,  quem  semper  voluit  Fortuna  iacere, 

banc  animam  extremae  reddere  nequitiae. 
multi  longinquo  periere  in  amore  libenter, 

in  quorum  numero  me  quoque  terra  tegat. 
non  ego  sum  laudi,  non  natus  idoneus  armis: 
30  banc  me  miHtiam  fata  subire  volunt. 

at  tu  seu  mollis  qua  tendit  Ionia  seu  qua 

Lydia  Pactoli  tingit  arata  liquor, 
seu  pedibus  terras  seu  pontum  carpere  remis 

ibis,  et  accepti  pars  eris  imperii, 

22.   at  0  et  «. 


21.  aetas  =  vita.  —  cessavit: 
'  has  had  leisure  for.' 

22.  at :  for  the  position  cf.  3, 
5,  14;  Verg.  Ec.  7,  67:  saepiiis 
at. — cura:  sc.  tua  or  tibi;  the 
State  had  been  his  mistress.  Cf. 
Tac.  Ann.  4.  8,  4 :  e  coniplexii  rei 
public  ae. 

23.  puer:  Amor.  —  iste  is 
more  expressive  than  translatable. 

25.  iacere  :  'take  life  easy.' 
Cf.  Cic.  Phil.  ID,  7,  14:  in  pace 
iacere  quam  in  bello  vigere  maluit. 
quamquam  ille  quidetn  numquam 
iacuit. 

26.  banc  animam  :  '■  this  life 
of  mine.'  —  nequitiae  :  '  wanton 
worthlessness.' 

ag.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  I,  57.  —  laudi: 
i.e.  military  glory. 


30.  banc  .  .  .  militiam :  i.e. 
the  service  of  my  mistress.  Cf. 
Tib.  I.  I.  75. 

31.  mollis  .  .  .  Ionia:  cf.  Verg. 
Georg.  I,  57:  molles  sua  tura 
Sabaei. 

32.  Pactoli :  the  proverbial 
river  which  contributed  so  greatly 
in  legend  to  the  fabulous  riches  of 
Lydia.  Cf.  the  modern  verse : 
"Where  Afric's  sunny  fountains 
roll  down  their  golden  sands."  — 
arata  (sc.  loca)  —  arva.  —  liquor: 
cf.  3,  18,  28. 

33.  carpere:  cf.  i,  1,  12,  n. 

34.  accepti :  i.e.  by  the  peoples 
who  soon  would  be  under  pax 
Romana  \n  Asia.  —  pars:  TuUus 
would  naturally  hold  some  office 
under  his  uncle's  control. 


210 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[7.  5 


35      turn  tibi  siqua  mei  veniet  non  inmemor  hora, 
vivere  me  duro  sidere  certus  eris. 


Dum  tibi  Cadmeae  dicuntur,  Pontice,  Thebae 
armaque  fraternae  tristia  militiae, 

atque,  ita  sim  felix,  primo  contendis  Homero, 
sint  modo  fata  tuis  moUia  carminibus, 

nos,  ut  consuemus,  nostros  agitamus  amores, 


36.  duro  sidere:  cf.  4,  i,  150; 
Ovid,  Trist.  5,  10,  45  :  tarn  grave 
sidus.  Astrology  and  its  language 
were  at  this  time  much  in  vogue. 
We  still  exclaim :  "  My  lucky 
stars! " 

I,  7 

1-14:  'You  are  writing  great 
epics,  Ponticus,  while  I  am  busy 
only  with  my  love,  and  from  thence 
must  hope  for  inspiration  and 
future  fame.  15-26:  But  if  per- 
chance Cupid  should  turn  his  bow 
upon  you,  how  you  would  envy 
me,  in  vain,  and  wish,  too  late, 
to  write  elegy  also !  So,  beware ! ' 

I.  Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  2,  18,  1-4; 
inacreo7itea^  23,  i  :  Qi\w  Xiyuv 
k.Tpf.i^as,  de\o)  Se  KttSjLiov  u8etv , 
d  /3ap/3iTOS  8k  )(0p8ai'i  "Epwra 
fjiovvov  rj^el.  —  tibi:  poetic  dat.  for 
abl.  of  agent.  —  Cadmeae  :  Cad- 
mus was  the  legendary  founder  of 
Thebes.  —  dicuntur:  cf.  Tib.  1,3. 


31. —  Pontice:  Ponticus  was  one 
of  the  few  literary  friends  whom 
Propertius  felt  free  to  address 
familiarly.  His  fame  as  an  epic 
poet  rests  mainly  upon  this  passage 
and  I,  9,  9,  together  with  Ovid, 
Trist.  4,  10,  47:  Potiticus  her 00, 
Bassjis  qjioque  clams  iavibis  — 
Thebae  :  many  a  "  Thebais  "  was 
attempted  by  the  Roman  poets; 
only  that  of  Statins  has  survived. 

2.  fraternae :  i.e.  of  Eteocles 
and    Polynices.      Cf.     H.    &    T. 

§  171- 

3.  ita  sim  felix :  cf.  Tib.  2,  5, 
63.  n. — primo  :  so  acknowledged 
now  nearly  three  millenniums  !  — 
Homero  :  the  rare  poetic  dat.  with 
contendo  occurs  also  in  i,  14,  7. 

5.  consuemus  =  consueviinns  • 
the  other  syncopated  forms  of  the 
perf.  are  more  common.  Cf.,  as 
other  examples  of  this  tendency  in 
Propertius,  2,  7,  2  :  flemiis  =  fievi- 
mus  ;  2,  15,  3  :  nar ramus  =  nar- 
ravimus  ;     9 :     mutamus  —  muta- 


211 


7,  6] 


PROPERTI 


lo 


15 


atque  aliquid  duram  quaerimus  in  dominam : 
nee  tantum  ingenio  quantum  servire  dolori 

cogor  et  aetatis  tempora  dura  queri. 
hie  mihi  conteritur  vitae  modus,  haee  mea  famast, 

hinc  cupio  nomen  carminis  ire  mei. 
me  laudent  doctae  solum  placuisse  puellae, 

Pontice,  et  iniustas  saepe  tulisse  minas : 
me  legat  adsidue  post  haec  neglectus  amator, 

et  prosint  illi  cognita  nostra  mala, 
te  quoque  si  certo  puer  hie  concusserit  arcu, 


vimus. — amores  :  the  plural  em- 
phasizes the  varying  phases  of  his 
passion. 

6.  aliquid :  i.e.  some  poetic 
appeal  to  her  fancy-  —  duram:  cf. 
the  preceding  elegy.  —  in  domi- 
nam :  the  preposition  implies  pur- 
pose. This  use  with  both  /;/  and 
ad  is  unusually  common  in  Pro- 
pertius,  there  being  all  together 
some  40  cases,  of  which  more 
than  half  are  with  /;/,  which  is 
elsewhere  rare  in  this  significa- 
tion. For  a  complete  list  of  the 
examples  cf.  the  editor's  col- 
lection in  PAPA.,  Vol.  28  (1897), 
p.  xxiii. 

7.  ingenio  :  an  implication  that 
his  own  taste  might  lead  him  to 
greater  themes,  were  he  not  ab- 
sorbed in  his  passion.  Such  a 
claim  is  justified  by  Book  4. 

9.  hie  .  .  .  haec  .  .  .  hinc :  em- 
phatic repetition  of  the  subject  of 
his  poetry,  viz.  his  love. 

10.  nomen:  'glory.'  The  wish 
has  been  fulfilled ;  cf.  the  phrase 
"Cynthia  Monobiblos." 


11.  laudent:  the  subject  is  in- 
definite.—  doctae  .  .  .  puellae:  the 
same  epithet  is  applied  to  Cynthia 
in  2,  II.  6  and  2,  13,  11,  doubt- 
less because  she  herself  wrote 
poetry;  cf.  i,  2,  27-28.  Catullus 
(65,  2)  uses  the  term  of  the  Muses 
themselv-es.  —  solum  :  so  far  as  his 
poetic  offerings  were  concerned, 
Propertius  surely  could  win  over  all 
rivals  for  Cynthia's  favor  ;  but  the 
poet  liopes  for  a  unique  affection 
also.  Cf.  2,  7,  19:  til  mihi  sola 
places :  placeatn  tibi,  Cynlhia,  sokes. 

12.  iniustas  .  .  .  minas:  cf. 
Intr.  to  1,6,  ad  fin. 

14.  cognita  nostra  mala :  cf. 
previous  note. 

15.  te :  by  attraction  for  the 
emphatic  tii  which  we  should  ex- 
pect here  as  the  subject  oiflebis.  — 
certo:  cf.  2,  12,9-12;  Ovid, y^w.  i, 
I,  25.  — puer  hie  :  cf.  i,  6,  23,  n. ; 
3,  10,  28  :  ^7/1?;;/  gravibtis  pennis 
verberet  ilk  puer  ;  in  this  case  the 
pronoun  is  determined  by  the 
contrast  between  the  experience  of 
the  speaker  and  his  friend. 

:i2 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


[7,  26 


20 


25 


quod  nolim  nostros  eviolasse  deos, 
longe  castra  tibi,  longe  miser  agmina  septem 

flebis  in  aeterno  surda  iacere  situ, 
et  frustra  cupies  mollem  conponere  versum, 

nee  tibi  subiciet  carmina  serus  Amor, 
turn  me  non  humilem  mirabere  saepe  poetam 

tunc  ego  Romanis  praeferar  ingeniis, 
nee  poterunt  iuvenes  nostro  reticere  sepulcro 

'  ardoris  nostri  magne  poeta,  iaces.' 
tu  cave  nostra  tuo  contemnas  carmina  fastu : 

saepe  venit  magno  fenore  tardus  Amor. 


7.  16.  quod  0  quo  Codex  Barberintis.  eviolasse  0  evoluisse  or  te  violasse 
Itali  evoluisse  Canter  quani  nolis  .  .  .  heu  violasse  Heinsius  quam  nolim 
.    .  .   te  violasse  .  .  .    !   A'oihsleiu. 


16.  '  Though  I  should  be  sorry 
to  have  my  patron  divinities  do 
such  a  dastardly  deed.'  —  quod: 
poetic  cognate  ace. — nostros: 
Venus  and  Amor. — eviolasse:  in- 
tensive compound.  The  variant 
reading  evoluisse  would  be  prop- 
erly used  only  of  the  Parcae. 

17.  longe:  'sorely.' —  castra 
.  .  .  agmina:  cf.  vv.  1-2. 

19.  mollem  :  a  common  epithet 
of  elegiac  verse  as  distinguished 
from  heroic  measures.  Cf.  Intr. 
§  3.  Perhaps  both  the  metrical 
weakening  (shortening)  of  the  al- 
ternate verse  and  the  character  of 
the  subject  matter  are  implied  in 
the  term.  Cf.  2,  i,  19-20;  2,  i, 
2;    2,  34,  43-44;    Dom.  Marsus, 


Ep. :  ne  foret,  aut  elegis  molles 
qui fleret  anwres  aut  caneret  forti 
7-egia  bella  pede. 

20.  subiciet :  '  suggest ' ;  cf. 
Livy,  3,  48,  8 :  clamitatit  >/ia- 
tronae  .  .  .  cetera,  quae  .  .  . 
dolor  .  .  .  subicit.  —  serus :  the 
reason. 

21.  non  humilem  :  /.^.  the  rela- 
tive situation  of  Ponticus  and 
Propertius  will  be  reversed. 

22.  ingeniis  :  '  men  of  genius  ' ; 
cf.  English,  '  a  genius.''  Rare  in 
this  concrete  sense. 

23.  reticere:  'keep  from  ex- 
claiming.'' 

26.  fenore  tardus :  cf.  Ovid, 
Her.  4,  19:  venit  Amor  gravius^ 
quo  seriics. 


213 


8,  il 


PROPERTI 


X.'>-»^  c 


S 

Tune  igitur  demens,  nee  te  mea  cura  moratur  ? 

an  tibi  sum  gelida  vilior  Illyria, 
et  tibi  iam  tanti,  quicumque  est,  iste  videtur, 

ut  sine  me  vento  quolibet  ire  velis  ? 
tune  audire  potes  vesani  murmura  ponti 

fortis,  et  in  dura  nave  iacere  potes  ? 
tu  pedibus  teneris  positas  fulcire  pruinas, 

tu  potes  insolitas,  Cynthia,  ferre  nives  ? 

Illyria  :  poetic  tor  ///)/■ 


1,8 

1-8  :  '  Are  you  beside  yourself, 
Cynthia,  to  abandon  me  for  such  a 
fellow,  and  with  him  to  brave 
wind  and  weather?  9-16:  May 
the  tempests  of  winter  prevent 
your  sailing  and  my  grieving. 
17-26  :  But  if  you  go,  may  safety 
attend  you ;  for  I  shall  ever  be 
faithful,  and  know  that  you  are 
still  destined  for  me.'  Cf.  Vahlen, 
"  Ueber  zwei  Elegien  des  Proper- 
tius,"  in  Siiz.  d.  Kgl.  Pr.  Akad.  d. 
Wiss.  1882.  pp.  262-280. 

1.  igitur:  we  are  introduced 
to  the  situation  not  at  the  begin- 
ning,  but  toward  the  conclusion  of 
the  poet's  meditations.  Cf  3,  7, 
I .  —  mea  :  better  taken  in  the  ob- 
jective sense.  Cf  i,  15,  31  :  tua 
sub  nostra  .  .  .  pedore  cura. 

2.  tibi:  'in  your  eyes.'  —  ge- 
lida :  a  stock  epithet  of  deprecia- 
tion ;  cf.  Hor.  Car.  4,  5,  25  :  quis 
Parthum  paveat,  quis  geliduni 
Scythen.  Propertius  naturally  de- 
sires to  exaggerate  the  severity 
of  the  climate  as  he  does  further  in 


vv.  7-9. 
rico. 

3.  iam  :  implying  a  sudden  de- 
velopment of  the  passion.  —  qui- 
cumque est,  iste :  an  assumption 
of  contemptuous  ignorance.  Of 
course  the  person  is  the  "  praetor." 
Cf.  2,  16,  I. 

4.  vento  quolibet :  the  abandon 
of  the  lover. 

5.  tune  :  the  emphatic  pronoun 
used  here  and  repeatedly  in  the 
following  verses  calls  attention  to 
tlie  absurdity  of  the  idea  that  so 
luxurious  a  lady  as  Cynthia  should 
plan  so  rough  an  experience. 

6.  dura :  Propertius  seems  to 
be  thinking  of  the  planks  as  the 
only  bed  on  shipboard.  But  the 
sailors'  comforts  would  contrast 
sharply  with  the  pampered  life  of 
Cynthia.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  13,  27  : 
dura  tiavis.,  dura  fugae  fnala,  dura 
belli. 

7.  pedibus  teneris :  cf.  Verg. 
Ec.  10,  49:  ah,  tibi  ne  teneras 
glacies  secet  asp  era  plant  as'. — 
positas  .  .  .  pruinas :  the  fallen 
snow,  as   distinguished   from  the 

214 


ELEGIARVM    LUiER   I 


[8,  17 


10 


15 


o  utinam  hibernae  duplicentur  tempora  brumae, 

et  sit  iners  tardis  navita  vergiliis, 
nee  tibi  Tyrrhena  solvatur  funis  harena, 

neve  inimica  meas  elevet  aura  preces, 
atque  ego  non  videam  tales  subsidere  ventos, 

cum  tibi  provectas  auferet  unda  rates,  - 
ut  me  defixum  vacua  patiatur  in  ora 

crudelem  infesta  saepe  vocare  manu. 
sed  quocumque  modo  de  me,  periura,  mereris, 

8.     15.    ut  Hemsterhusius  et  0. 


falling  snow  (tiives)  in  the  next 
verse.  —  fulcire  :  'tread  firmly.' 
For  an  attempted  justification  of 
this  unique  usage  see  Postgate, 
Prop.,  Appendix  B. 

9.  hibernae :  'stormy';  cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  5,  126;  hibenii  con- 
dun  t  tibi  sidera  Cori ;  Hor.  Epod. 
1 5,  8  :  tiirbaret  hibermnn  mare. 

10.  tardis  .  .  .  vergiliis  :  causal ; 
the  adjective  has  a  predicate  force. 
The  rising  of  the  Pleiades  was  the 
signal  for  the  safe  opening  of  the 
navigation  season. 

11.  Tyrrhena:  the  praetor,  a 
Roman  official,  would  be  more  apt 
to  sail  from  the  station  of  the 
Roman  fleet  at  Ostia,  than  from 
Brindisi.  —  For  the  meter,  cf.  Intr. 
§  42,  I  (4).  In  imagination  the 
poet  sees  the  whole  picture  of  the 
proposed  departure,  and  utters  a 
succession  of  wishes  that  the  va- 
rious details  of  it  one  by  one  may 
not  be  realized  in  fact. 

12.  inimica :  used  as  a  part  of 
the  predicate. —  elevet:  'mock' 
(make  light  of). 


13.  ego  .  .  .  videam:  if  it  must 
happen,  may  /  never  live  to  see 
the  day.  —  tales:  i.e.  such  as  are 
described  or  implied  in  the  preced- 
ing verses. 

14.  This  verse  is  equivalent  to 
a  coordinate  clause  with  the  pre- 
ceding. 

15.  defixum:  petrified  with 
grief  and  despair,  as  he  watches 
the  receding  fleet.  —  patiatur:  i.e. 
be  obliged  to  hear  (sc.  undo)  ;  cf. 
Vahlen,  /.  r.,  pp.  263  sqq. 

16.  crudelem  probably  refers 
to  iindain  to  be  supplied.  It  is 
out  of  harmony  with  the  general 
absence  of  reproaches  throughout 
the  poem  that  it  should  refer  to  a 
te.  Cf.  Verg.  Ec.  5,  23  :  deos 
at  que  astra  7>ocat  crtcdelia  mater. 
—  infesta  .  .  .  manu:  the  angry 
shaking  of  the  fist  would  have  no 
place  here,  if  it  referred  to  Cynthia 
instead  of  the  waves. 

17.  Under  no  conditions  will  a 
like  feeling  of  enmity  {infesta^  be 
treasured  against  his  darling,  no 
matter  how  he  hates  the  cruel  sea. 


215 


8,  i8] 


PROPERTI 


20 


25 


sit  Galatea  tuae  non  aliena  viae, 
ut  te,  felici  praevecta  Ceraunia  remo, 

accipiat  placidis  Oricos  aequoribus. 
nam  me  non  uUae  poterunt  corrumpere  de  te, 

quin  ego,  vita,  tuo  limine  verba  querar  : 
nee  me  deficiet  nautas  rogitare  citatos 

'  dicite,  quo  portu  clausa  puella  meast  ? ' 
et  dicam  '  licet  Atraciis  considat  in  oris, 

et  licet  Hylleis :  ilia  futura  meast.' 

19.    ut  te  NAFV2  utere  DV.       21.   de  te  0  taedae  w. 


—  periura  :  with  concessive  force : 
'  though  you  go  back  on  all  your 
protestations.' 

18.  Galatea:  a  friendly  sea 
divinity,  as  were  all  the  Nereids, 
appropriately  invoked  as  a  type 
of  female  beauty,  and  so  pre- 
sumably especially  interested  in 
Cynthia.  Cf.  H.  &  T.  70;  Ovid, 
Am.  2,  II,  34  (this  whole  poem  is 
strongly  imitative). 

19.  praevecta :  voc  for  ace, 
an  extreme  example  of  Propertius's 
fondness  for  the  vocative.  Pos- 
sibly cfliifisa  is  a  parallel,  in  i,  11, 
9.  Cf.  also  3.  22,  30 :  nee  tremts 
Ausonias,  Phoebe  fugate,  dapes. 
Cf.  Vahlen.  I.e.,  pp.  266  sqq. — 
Ceraunia  :  the  dangerous  promon- 
tory Acroceraunia,  behind  which 
lay  the  haven  of  Oricos  (Ori- 
cus,  Oricum).  Cf.  Hor.  Car. 
I,  3,  20:  infamis  seopidos,  Acro- 
ceraunia. 

21.  non  ullae  :  ^z.  feminae ;  a 
unique  use  of  the  fem.  plur. ;  but 
cf.  4.  II,  50.  —  corrumpere  de  te  : 
cf.  Plaut.  As.  883  :  tne  ex  amore 
huius  corruptmn  oppido. 


21. 

22.  verba  querar :  cf.  Ovid, 
Met.  9,  303 :  jnoiuraqiie  duros 
verba  queror  siliees. 

23.  deficiet  with  subject  inf. 
clause  is  a  poet's  way  of  saying 
'  I  shall  not  fail  to,'  etc.,  a  lover's 
hyperbole.  —  citatos  :  '  hurrying ' ; 
cf.  Sen.  Here.  Fur.  178  :  proper  at 
cursii  vita  citato  ;  Phaedra.  \  049  : 
pistrix  citatas  sorbet  aid  frangit 
rates. 

25.  dicam :  i.e.  in  reply  to  the 
answer  of  the  sailors,  whatever  it 
may  be.  —  Atraciis  :  the  only  Atrax 
historically  known  was  in  central 
Thessaly.  Either  Propertius  is 
implying  that  it  makes  no  differ- 
ence whether  Cynthia  is  in  lllyria 
or  elsewhere,  or  in  poetic  hyper- 
bole, or  the  usual  geographical  in- 
exactness, he  is  stretching  the 
limits  of  lllyria  as  far  eastward  as 
possible  for  the  effect  desired  in 
this  contrast. 

26.  Hylleis  :  the  name  of  a  not 
definitely  located  lUyrian  tribe, 
who  traced  their  descent  from 
Hyllus,  a  son  of  Heracles  by  the 
water  nymph  Melite.  Cf  Apollon. 


316 


rV 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER  I 


[8  b,  33 


8b 

Hie  erit,  hie  iiirata  manet.     rumpantur  iniquil 
vieimus :  adsiduas  non  tulit  ilia  preces, 

falsa  licet  eupidus  deponat  gaudia  livor : 
destitit  ire  novas  Cynthia  nostra  vias. 

illi  earns  ego  et  per  me  carissima  Roma 
dicitur,  et  sine  me  dulcia  regna  negat. 

ilia  vel  angusto  mecum  requiescere  lecto 


27.    Divided  from  the  foregoing  by  I.ipsius.     No  break  in  0- 


Rhod.  4,  535-539 :  a/x<^i  TToAti' 
dyav^v  'YA.A.7jtoa  .  .  .  YAAov,  bv 
€vei8^9  MeAtVr;  TiKf-V  'HpaKA^i 
St^/xw  ^aiy]Kwv.  —  ilia  f utura  meast : 
'she  is  destined  for  me.' 


I,  8  b 

The  sequel  to  the  preceding 
poem,  written  as  soon  as  Proper- 
tins  learns  the  successful  result  of 
his  petitions.  27-38:  'Victory! 
Cynthia  stays,  and  says  she  prefers 
me  to  all  that  kings  could  give. 
39-42  :  It  was  not  by  such  offers 
that  she  was  won,  but  by  my 
potent  verse.  43-46 :  Now  she 
is  mine  so  long  as  life  shall  last.' 

27.  Hie  ...  hie  :  the  emphasis 
in  the  first  overjoyed  exclamations 
of  delight  is  upon  the  thought  that 
instead  of  wandering  in  the  remote 
and  vague  regions  just  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  poem,  she  is  to 
be  'here.'  — iurata:  'she  has 
taken  her  oath  to.'  Cf.  v.  17  for 
the  unrealized  fear.  —  rumpantur : 


cf.   Hor.  Sat.  i,  3,  135  :   iniserque 
rum  peris. 

28.  adsiduas:  'importunate.' 
—  non  tulit :  since  they  were  ir- 
resistible. 

29.  falsa:  'groundless,'  be- 
cause based  on  a  fear  which  is  now 
not  to  become  fact.  —  gaudia : 
jealousy  dotes  on  every  opportu- 
nity to  gratify  its  passion.  —  livor  : 
Propertius  gloats  over  the  livor,  as 
if  it  had  a  personal  and  separate 
existence. 

30.  destitit :  '  has  given  up  her 
purpose.'  —  nostra:  emphatic. 

31.  ego:  sc.  dicor :  note  the 
triumphant  repetitions  of  the  per- 
sonal pronoun  in  these  three 
verses. 

32.  sine  me  :  cf.  v.  4.  —  dulcia  : 
sc.  esse. 

33.  angusto :  it  is  the  slender- 
ness  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
owner  that  the  poet  means  to  im- 
ply. Cf.  Sen.  T/iyestes,  452: 
scelern  non  intrant  casas,  tut  usque 
mensa  capitiir  angusta  cibus. 

17 


8  b,  34] 


PROPERTI 


et  quocumque  modo  maluit  esse  mea, 
35      quam  sibi  dotatae  regnum  vetus  Hippodamiae, 

et  quas  Elis  opes  ante  pararat  equis. 
quamvis  magna  daret,  quamvis  maiora  daturus, 

non  tamen  ilia  meos  fugit  avara  sinus, 
banc  ego  non  auro,  non  Indis  flectere  concbis, 
40  sed  potui  blandi  carminis  obsequio. 

sunt  igitur  musae,  neque  amanti  tardus  Apollo ; 

quis  ego  fretus  amo  :  Cynthia  rara  meast. 
nunc  mibi  summa  licet  contingere  sidera  plantis 


34.  quocumque  modo :  cf.  the 
phraseology  of  the  marriage  ritual : 
"  for  better,  for  worse,  for  richer, 
for  poorer."  Observe  the  triple 
rime ;  cf.  Cholmeley,  Theocritus^ 
pp.  44  sq. 

35.  sibi :  the  force  of  the  esse 
in  the  preceding  verse  is  continued 
here. —  dotatae  :  lier  dos  was  the 
regnum  of  her  father,  Oenomaus. 

36.  et :  '  namely  ' ;  the  verse 
explains  further  the  meaning  of 
dotatae.  Cf.  for  tliis  et  3,  7,  29. 
—  ante  pararat:  'has  ever  won.' 
Cf.  3, 1 1, 65  for  the  tense.  —  equis  : 
as  if  Pelops  and  the  other  kings  of 
Elis  had  owned  all  the  horses 
which  during  the  centuries  won 
the  Olympian  prizes! 

37.  daret :  the  rival.  —  daturus  : 
so.  esset ;  '  would  probably  have 
given,'  perhaps  even  '  promised  to 
give.' 

38.  avara  belongs  to  the  predi- 
cate. 

39.  conchis  :  by  metonymy  for 
the  pearl  within.  Cf.  3,  13,  6:  et 
vend  e  rubro  concha  Erythraea 

2 


salo :  Tib.  3,  3,  17 ;  2,  4,  30 :  e 
rubro  lucida  concha  mart;  Ovid, 
Am.  2,  1 1,  13. 

40.  blandi  carminis :  the  pre- 
vious poem  answers  the  descrip- 
tion, in  its  remarkable  self-restraint 
and  irresistible  attraction.  But 
Propertius  may  not  refer  to  this 
poem  alone.  —  obsequio  :  '  through 
obedience  to  the  compelling 
power!'  It  is  not  the  poet,  but 
his  mistress,  that  has  obeyed. 

41.  sunt  igitur  musae:  cf.  4,  7, 
I :  Sunt  aliquid  manes. 

42.  quis  =  quibus.  —  rara :  cf. 
I,  17,  16. 

43.  summa:  for  there  is  noth- 
ing higher  to  mortal  vision,  or 
mortal  ken.  —  contingere  sidera 
plantis :  Propertius  outdoes  his 
predecessors  and  his  successors. 
We  are  content  to  be  ''on  the 
mountain  top."  Horace's  phrase 
for  his  hoped-for  triumph  is  only 
subiu/n'fcriam  sidera  vert  ice  (Car. 
I,  I,  36).  But  Propertius,  the 
favored  lover,  is  among  the  im- 
mortals, and,  like  theirs,  his  celes- 


18 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[9.  4 


sive  dies  seu  nox  venerit,  ilia  meast, 
45      nee  mihi  rivalis  certos  subducit  amores. 
ista  nieam  norit  gloria  canitiem. 


Dicebam  tibi  venturos,  inrisor,  amores, 
nee  tibi  perpetuo  libera  verba  fore  : 

ecce  iaces  supplexque  venis  ad  iura  puellae, 
et  tibi  nunc  quaevis  imperat  empta  modo. 

9.    4.    quaevis  0  quovis  Vo  quidvis  Postgate. 


tial  steps  are  planted  on  the  stars  ; 
cf.  Cat.  66,  69. 

46.  ista :  the  scornful  pronoun 
refers  to  the  praetor's  failure  to 
accompHsh  exactly  what  Propertius 
had  achieved :  that  glory  which 
my  rival  hoped  for,  viz.  subdjicere 
amores,  is  to  be  mine  forever,  in 
having  won  it  away  from  him  for 
all  time. 

I,   9 

The  sequel  to  i,  7.  Ponticus 
has  indeed  succumbed  to  Amor, 
and  Propertius  prescribes  elegiac 
composition  as  likely  to  offer 
relief.  1-8:  'I  told  you  so; 
you're  dead  in  love,  and  all  too 
well  I  know  what  that  means. 
9-16  :  Of  what  avail  are  now  your 
epics?  turn  to  elegy,  for  which, 
fortunately,  you  are  well  equipped. 
17-22:  Your  troubles  are  but  just 
begun.  23-32  :  Don't  imagine 
that  you  are  master  of  the  situ- 


The  for- 
warning. 
Dicebam 


ation  ;  Cupid  is  all-powerful,  and 
can  do  with  you  as  he  will. 
33-34 :  So  .speak  your  woes  in 
verse.' 

1.  Dicebam :  in  1,7. 
mula  for  recalling  a 
Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  i,  14,  i  : 
'  medicare  ttios  desist e  capillos  '  ; 
Plant.  As.  938 :  dicebam,  pater, 
tibi  lie  matri  consuleres  male. 

2.  libera:  i.e.  because  not  re- 
strained from  scoffing  by  any 
consciousness  of  being  himself 
vulnerable  to  a  like  attack. 

3.  iaces:  'are  humbled.'  — 
venis  ad  iura :  a  legal  formula, 
of  '  coming  to  court '  (the  pun  is 
English  only),  indicating,  with 
supple.w  a  complete  dependence 
upon  the  decision  (or  sentence.'') 
of  the  fair  judge. 

4.  quaevis :  Propertian  ambi- 
guity ;  best  taken  as  ace.  plur. — 
modo  :  '  but  yesterday  ' ;  i.e.  the 
girl  is  a  libertitia,  or  possibly  still 
even  a  slave. 


219 


9.  5] 


PROPERTI 


5     non  me  Chaoniae  vincant  in  amore  columbae 
dicere  quos  iuvenes  quaeque  puella  domet 
me  dolor  et  lacrimae  merito  fecere  peritum  : 

atque  utinam  posito  dicar  amore  rudis ! 
quid  tibi  nunc  misero  prodest  grave  dicere  carmen 
lo  aut  Amphioniae  moenia  flere  lyrae  ? 

\  plus  in  amore  valet  Mimnermi  versus  Homero : 

carmina  mansuetus  lenia  quaerit  Amor. 
i  quaeso  et  tristis  istos  conpone  libellos, 
et  cane  quod  quaevis  nosse  puella  velit. 

12.   lenia  w  levia  0. 


5.  me:  emphatic.  —  Chaoniae 
=  Epiroticae.  At  Dodona  in  Epi- 
rus  was  a  very  celebrated  ancient 
oracle  of  Zeus,  to  whom  doves 
were  originally  sacred  ;  cf.  Joiir. 
Hellen.  Stud.,  Vol.  21  (1901), 
p.  105.  —  vincant:  'exceP;  poten- 
tial.—  columbae:  as  sacred  to 
Venus  these  oracular  birds  would 
be  especially  sure  to  hit  the  truth 
in  matters  of  love. 

6.  dicere :  poetic  construction 
with  vincant :  cf.  Sil.  Ital.  6,  141  : 
noti  ullo  Libycis  in  Jinibiis  annie 
victus  limosas  extendere  latins 
undas. 

7.  merito :  i.e.  1  have  nobody 
to  blame  but  myself. 

8.  atque  :  adversative.  —  rudis  : 
cf.  2,  34,  82  :  sive  in  amore  rudis 
sive  perittis  erit. 

9.  grave  :  i.e.  an  epic. 

10.  Cf.  I,  7,  I.  n.  Amphion, 
one  of  the  twin  kings  of  Thebes, 
played  so  skillfully  on  the  lyre 
given  him  by  Hermes  that  the 
buije  stones  arranged  themselves 


to  form  the  city  wall.  —  flere :  cf. 
3,  9,  37  ;  Hor.  Epod.  14,  1 1  :  cava 
t  est  n  dine  fJevit  am  or  em . 

II.  Mimnermi:  a  venerable 
figure  in  the  field  of  elegy,  and 
the  elegist  who  originated  the 
erotic  type.  Cf.  Intr.  §  4.  For 
his  relation  to  Propertius  cf.  Wila- 
mowitz  in  the  Sitz.  d.  Kgl.  Pr. 
Akad.  d.  IJ'iss.  1912,  pp.  100  sqq. 
—  versus  Homero:  the  juxtapo- 
sition heightens  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  single  verse  of  the  master 
of  love  elegies  and  Homer,  epics 
and  all  ! 

13.  tristis:  oi.  flere,  v.  10. — 
istos :  those  worthless  for  the 
purpose  to  which  you  have  been 
devoting  yourself.  —  conpone  :  i.e. 
roll  together  and  put  away  in  their 
case.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  4,  14,  51  : 
Sygavibri  conpositis  venerantur 
arjnis ;  Cic.  Ad  Fatn.  16,  20: 
libros  conpone.  This  verse,  how- 
ever, affords  an  elegant  example  oi 
the  characteristic  ambiguity  of  our 
poet ;    in    another    interpretation 

20 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[9.  24 


15 


20 


quid  si  iion  esset  facilis  tibi  copia  ?  nunc  tu 

insanus  medio  flumine  quaeris  aquam. 
necdum  etiam  palles,  vero  nee  tangeris  igni : 

haec  est  venturi  prima  favilla  mali. 
turn  magis  Armenias  cupies  accedere  tigres 

et  magis  infernae  vincula  nosse  rotae, 
quam  pueri  totiens  arcum  sentire  medullis 

et  nihil  iratae  posse  negare  tuae. 
nullus  Amor  cuiquam  facilis  ita  praebuit  alas, 

ut  non  alterna  presserit  ille  manu. 


conpone  =  ' write,''  cf.  i,  7,  19; 
then  with  tristis  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i, 
33,  2 :  miserabiles  elegos ;  and 
istos  =  '  those  which  you  have 
scorned.'  —  libellos  :  more  com- 
mon of  a  short  poem.  Cf.  2,  13, 
25,  n. 

15.  In  such  a  case  you  would 
have  more  excuse  for  hesitation.  — 
copia  :  /.e.  '  facility '  in  compo- 
sition. 

16.  The  famlHar  fable  of  the 
thirsty  sailors  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Amazon  Is  but  a  later  adaptation 
of  a  classical  commonplace.  Cf. 
Ovid,  Tr/sL  5,4,  9  :  ncc  frondetn 
in  silvis,  nee  aperto  mollia  prato 
gramma,  nee  plena  fliimine  cernit 
aqt(am. 

17.  palles:  cf.  i,  I,  22,  n. — 
igni:  of  love. 

18.  prima  favilla  mali :  the 
expression  would  well  suit  the 
usual  phenomenon  of  a  prelimi- 
nary shower  of  ashes  before  a 
great  volcanic  eruption,  familiar 
to  the  Romans  of  this  period  from 
frequent  instances  at  Aetna  and 

22 


Stromboli.  But  probably  Pro- 
pertius  is  thinking  only  of  the 
apparently  lifeless  ashes  under 
which  still  lie  dangerous  fires, 
which  may  burn  the  curious 
meddler. 

19.  Armenias:  a  stock  epithet 
to  indicate  ferocity.  Cf.  Tib.  3,  6, 
15:  Verg.  Ec.  5,29:  Ovid,  Mel. 
8,121:  Armeniae  ligres  austroque 
agitata  Charybdis. 

20.  vincula :  the  brazen  band 
with  which  Ixion  was  bound  to  the 
wheel.  —  nosse:  i.e.  experience. 

21.  pueri:  Cupid. 

22.  iratae :  i.e.  whenever  you 
are  out  of  favor. 

23.  nullus:  Mn  no  case.' — ■ 
facilis  .  .  .  alas :  the  successful 
lover  proverbially  "  treads  on  air." 
It  is  unnecessary  to  look  for  a 
reference  to  Cupid's  own  wings. 

24.  alterna  (not  altera):  'in 
turn.'  The  'ups  and  downs'  of 
love  are  equally  certain.  One 
moment  the  lover  soars  above  the 
heads  of  ordinary  mortals ;  the 
next,  he  falls  to  the  ground  in  hu- 


9.  25] 


PROPERTI 


25      nec  te  decipiat,  quod  sit  satis  ilia  parata : 
acrius  ilia  subit,  Pontice,  siqua  tuast ; 
tf'  quippe  ubi  non  liceat  vacuos  seducere  ocellos, 
nec  vigilare  alio  nomine  cedat  Amor, 
qui  non  ante  patet,  donee  manus  attigit  ossa. 
30  quisquis  es,  adsiduas  ah  fuge  blanditias, 

illis  et  silices  possunt  et  cedere  quercus^ 

nedum  tu  possis,  spiritus  iste  levis. 
quare,  si  pudor  est,  quam  primum  errata  fatere 
dicere,  quo  pereas,  saepe  in  amore  levat. 

31.    possunt  et  m  et  possunt  DV  et  possint  NAF. 


miliation  and  dejection.  Which- 
ever one  of  the  figures  suggested 
by  various  commentators  Pro- 
pertius  had  in  mind,  the  parallel 
quoted  from  Shak.  Ro}ji.  and  Jul. 
2,  2,  177  is  interesting:  "  I  would 
have  thee  gone :  And  yet  no 
further  than  a  wanton's  bird  ;  Who 
lets  it  hop  a  little  from  her  hand, 
Like  a  poor  prisoner  in  his  twisted 
gyves,  And  with  a  silk  thread 
plucks  it  back  again.  So  loving- 
jealous  of  his  liberty." 

25.  quod  sit :  '  the  idea  that 
she  is.'  —  parata  :  '  responsive.' 

26.  acrius  .  .  .  subit  refers  to 
soul-suffering. 

27.  quippe  ubi :  '  for  this  is  a 
case  where.'  —  vacuos:  'to  relieve 
the  tension ' ;  the  word  belongs 
to  thepredicate  by  a  proleptic  use. 

28.  vigilare  :  'keep  love's  vigil' ; 
the  object  of  cedat:  i.e.  to  suffer 
the  anxieties  of  a  lover.  —  alio 
nomine :  '  for  the  sake  of  any 
other  loved  one.' 


29.  The  correlation  ante  .  .  . 
donee  is  unique. 

30.  adsiduas:  like  those  just 
described. 

31.  An  ancient  proverbial 
thought;  cf.  Ovid,  y^w.  3.  7,  57: 
ilia  graves potuit  quercus  adanian- 
taquc  durum  surdaque  blanditiis 
saxa  //lovere  suis ;  Plaut.  Poeti. 
290 :  ilia  mulier  lapidein  silicem 
subigere,  ut  se  amet,  potest. 

32.  Note  the  subtle  sarcasm 
in  possis.  —  iste  :  '  such  as  thou 
art.' 

33.  quare:  not  found  in  Tib. ; 
used  si.x  times  in  Prop. — pudor: 
the  sense  of  shame  is  due  to 
having  boasted  (but  idly)  to  Pro- 
pertius  that  he  was  immune  from 
love. 

34.  quo  pereas:  *  for  whom 
thou  languishest.'  The  gender  of 
the  pronoun  is  purposely  indefinite. 
Cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  27,  10:  dicat 
.  .  .  quo  beatus  volnere,  qua 
per  eat  sagitta. 


222 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[12,  9 


12 

Quid  mihi  desidiae  non  cessas  fingere  crimen, 

quod  facial  nobis  conscia  Roma  moram  ? 
tam  multa  ilia  meo  divisa  est  milia  lecto, 

quantum  Hypanis  Veneto  dissidet  Eridano, 
nee  mihi  consuetos  amplexu  nutrit  amores^ 

Cynthia  nee  nostra  dulcis  in  aure  sonat. 
dim  gratus  eram  :  non  illo  tempore  cuiquam 

contigit  ut  simili  posset  amare  fide. 
invidiae  fuimus:  num  me  deus  obruit  ?  an  quae 

12.    9.    num  DV  non  NAF  nunc  w. 


I,   12 

To  the  reproaches  of  an  un- 
known friend  for  his  spiritless  life, 
• — especially,  it  would  seem,  his 
lack  of  interest  in  an  invitation  to 
travel,  —  Propertius  replies  (1-6) 
that  it  is  not  Cynthia  who  re- 
strains him,  for  she  is  estranged  ; 
7-14:  once  a  favored  lover,  he  is 
now  for  some  unknown  reason 
cast  off,  and  lonely  in  his  bitter 
sorrow;  15-20:  though  unable  to 
touch  her  heart  with  sympathy,  or 
to  transfer  his  affection  to  another, 
he  can  at  least  be  faithful  to  her 
unto  death. 

1.  mihi :  cf.  3,  il,  3. 

2.  conscia:  'which  knows  the 
secret  of  my  love.'  Cf.  2,  13,  42. 
—  Roma :  i.e.  Rome  and  its  fas- 
cination, including  Cynthia. 

3.  tam  multa  .  .  .  milia :  that 
there  was  a  literal  separation  at 
this  time  may  be  indicated  by  the 


preceding  poem,  in  which  Cynthia 
is  amusing  herself  in  the  gay  life 
of  Baiae.  But  the  comparison  in 
v.  4  shows  that  it  is  of  the  spiritual 
separation  that  the  poet  is  espe- 
cially thinking.  —  ilia  :  for  Pro- 
pertius there  was  but  one  'she,' 
and  he  is  unconscious  of  any  am- 
biguity. 

4.  Cf.  "  as  far  as  the  east  is 
from  the  west."  It  may  be 
doubted  whether  Propertius  had 
any  clear  idea  of  the  location  of 
the  Hypanis,  and  authorities  are 
divided  as  to  its  location.  If  there 
was  one  in  India,  it  would  suit  the 
context  best. 

6.  Cynthia  :  i.e.  the  name.  Cf. 
I,  18,  22. 

7.  Cf.  Cat.  87. 

9.  invidiae:  pred.  dat.  :  'an 
object  of  envy ' ;  i.e.  on  account 
of  his  good  fortune  in  possessing 
the  favor  of  Cynthia.  —  num  : 
the  poet  cannot  believe  his  enemy 


223 


12,    lO] 


PROPERTI 


ro 


IS 


20 


lecta  Prometheis  dividit  herba  iugis  ? 
non  sum  ego  qui  fueram  :  mutat  via  longa  puellas : 

quantus  in  exiguo  tempore  fugit  amor! 
nunc  primum  longas  solus  cognoscere  noctes 

cogor  et  ipse  meis  auribus  esse  gravis, 
felix  qui  potuit  praesenti  flere  puellae  : 

non  nihil  adspersis  gaudet  Amor  lacrimis ; 
aut  si  despectus  potuit  mutare  calores : 

sunt  quoque  translato  gaudia  servitio. 
mi  neque  amare  aliam  neque  ab  hac  discedere  fas  est: 

Cynthia  prima  fuit,  Cynthia  finis  erit. 


14 

Tu  licet  abiectus  Tiberina  molliter  unda 
Lesbia  Mentoreo  vina  bibas  opere, 


has  been  a  god  ;  rather  the  witch- 
craft or  magic  potions  of  a  human 
rival.  —  quae:  indef. 

10.  Prometheis.  .  .  iugis :  Pro- 
metheus was  bound  on  the  Cau- 
casus.—  dividit  :  sc.  tne  ab  ilia.  — 
herba :  apparently  the  cf)dpfj.aKov 
Upoixi'jOeLov,  said  to  have  sprung 
from  the  blood  of  Prometheus  and 
to  have  an  unenviable  efficacy  in 
magic  potions.  Cf.  Apollon.  Rhod. 
3,  845;  Val.  Flac.  7,  356-7: 
Prometheae  florem  de  sanguine 
florae  Caiicaseum  promit  nutri- 
taqiie  gramina  ponti. 

11.  Cf.  Hon  Car.  4,  1,3:  non 
sum  qualis  cram  bonae  sub  regno 
Cinarae.  For  the  tense  cf.  2,  13, 
38,  n. 


224 


13.  solus  :  to  be  taken  with  cog- 
it  0  seer  e. 

14.  meis:  instead  of  those  of 
his  puella  (v.  15). 

15.  puellae:  for  the  dat.  cf. 
Tib.  2,  5,  103. 

17.  S c .  felix  qui.  —  calores :  i.e. 
the  person  exciting  the  passion. 

19.  neque  .  .  .  fas  :  wrong  in 
the  sight  of  the  powers  that  be, 
perhaps  especially  Venus  and 
Cupid. 

I,    14 

The  joys  of  love  are  far  supe- 
rior to  those  of  luxurious  wealth 
(C.S.).  The  third  in  the  group  of 
elegies  dealing  intimately  with  the 
experiences   and    feelings    of   the 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[14,  6 


et  modo  tam  celeres  mireris  currere  lintres 
et  modo  tam  tardas  funibus  ire  rates, 

et  nemus  omne  satas  intendat  vertice  silvas, 
urgetur  quantis  Caucasus  arboribus : 


14.    5.    omne   0  unde   Lachmann  utque  nemus  tantas  Kuehlewein. 
tendat  0  ut  tendat  Rothstein  ut  nemus  amne  satas  incingat  Fonteinius. 


in- 


lover  is  addressed   to  his    friend 
Tullus. 

1-14:  'AH  your  luxury  is  no 
match  for  that  love  which  makes 
me  a  Croesus  and  a  king.  15- 
24  :  Venus  is  the  mistress  of 
every  heart.  Without  herijosses- 
sions  are  futile ;  with  her  I  can 
disdain  them.'' 

1.  Tu:  the  name  of  Tullus 
does  not  occur  till  v.  20.  — 
abiectus  .  .  .  molliter  :  '  having 
thrown  yourself  down  in  the  aban- 
don of  easy  luxury,  on  the  banks 
of  Tiber's  stream.'  It  is  an  ele- 
gant expression  for  utter  freedom 
from  care  and  restraint  (C.  S.).  — 
unda  :  this  locative  abl.  seems  to 
be  a  mixture  of  the  ideas,  ripa 
and  ad  undam,  either  of  which 
would  have  been  more  exact. 
Tullus  probably  owned  a  suburban 
villa  on  the  Tiber  below  Rome. 
Cf.  Mart.  4.  64. 

2.  Lesbia  .  .  .  vina  :  the  Les- 
bian was  one  of  the  best  of  the  Ae- 
gean wines,  noted  for  its  sweetness 
and  harmlessness.  It  could  be 
drunk  freely  without  intoxication. 
Hence  Hor.  Car.  i,  17.  21  :  hie 
innocentis  pociila  Lesbii  duces  sub 
umbra.  It  was  sometimes  called 
Methymnaean    from    a     city     of 

ROM.  EL.  POETS  —  1 5  22 


Lesbos  (C.  S.).  —  Mentoreo  .  .  . 
opera  :  Mentor  was  the  most  cele- 
brated silver-chaser  among  the 
Greeks.  None  of  his  larger  works 
were  extant  in  Pliny's  time,  but 
smaller  cups  existed  and  were  very 
costly  (C.  S.).     Cf.  3,  9,  13. 

3.  mireris:  'see  with  admira- 
tion.'—  lintres:  passenger  boats, 
probably,  the  swiftest  known  then, 
corresponding  to  our  best  motor 
boats  to-day. 

4.  rates  is  contrasted  with 
lintres.  The  allusion  is  to  the 
heavily  laden  canal  boats  or  the 
raft-like  vessels  called  caudicariae. 
Tliese  boats  were  towed  from  Ostia 
to  Rome  by  means  of  oxen. 
They  brought  to  the  two  principal 
docks  of  Rome,  the  Marmorata  and 
the  Emporium,  vast  quantities  of 
merchandise,  corn,  and  building 
materials  (C.  S.)-  Cf.  Lanciani, 
Anc.  Rome  in  the  Light  of  Mod. 
Dist.,  p.  236. 

5.  nemus  omne,  etc.  :  '  a  whole 
grove  spreads  out  its  planted 
shade  trees  with  top  as  high  as 
the  trees  with  which  Caucasus  is 
clothed.'  The  courts  of  the 
Roman  villas  were  often  planted 
with  shrubbery  and  watered  with 
fountains  on  a  magnificent  scale 


14.  7] 


PROPERTI 


lO 


15 


20 


non  tamen  ista  meo  valeant  contendere  amori : 

nescit  Amor  magnis  cedere  divitiis. 
nam  sive  optatam  mecum  trahit  ilia  quietem, 

seu  facili  totum  ducit  amore  diem, 
tum  mihi  Pactoli  veniunt  sub  tecta  liquores, 

at  legitur  rubris  gemma  sub  aequoribus  : 
tum  mihi  cessuros  spondent  mea  gaudia  reges : 

quae  maneant,  dum  me  fata  perire  volent. 
nam  quis  divitiis.  adverso  gaudet  Amore  ? 

nulla  mihi  tristi  praemia  sint  Venere ! 
ilia  potest  magnas  heroum  infringere  vires, 

ilia  etiam  duris  mentibus  esse  dolor : 
ilia  neque  Arabium  metuit  transcendere  limen, 

nee  timet  ostrino,  Tulle,  subire  toro. 


(C.  S.).  Cf.  Tib.  3,  3,  15.  — in- 
tendat  goes  with  licet ^  v.  i. — 
vertice  :  instrumental,  referring  to 
nemus.  The  editors  abound  in 
other  explanations  such  as:  abl. 
of  source  with  satas,  loc.  abl., 
dat.  {=  caelo,  i.e.  the  zenith) 
(Rothstein). 

7.  ista  refers  to  Tn  in  v.  i  and 
to  the  following  description.  — 
contendere  :  i.e.  '  to  vie  with.'  — 
amori:  cf.  i,  7,  3,  n. 

9.  trahit:    'prolongs"  (C.  S.). 

—  ilia  :   cf.  I,  12,  3,  n. 

10.  facili:  '  willing.'/.^,  mutual. 

—  ducit:     'spends'  (C.  S.). 

11.  Pactoli:    cf.  I.  6,  32,  n. 

12.  Cf.  Tib.  2,  2.  15-16,  nn. 

13.  cessuros:  sc  esse.  —  spon- 
dent:   'assure'  (C.  S.). 

14.  dum  .  .  .  volent:  the  fut. 
with  dum  in  the  sense  of  '  until '  is 


very  rare  in  the  classical  period. 
L.  1996. 

15-16.  The  sentiment  is  as  old 
as  Mimnermus  (^Frag.  i)  :  rt's  Se 
/3to?,  Tt  Se  repTTvov  arep  xpvcrir)^ 
'A<^po8trr;s ;  Cf.  Hor.  Ep.  I,  6. 
65  :  si,  Mimnermus  uti  censet,  sine 
amore  iocisqiie  nil  est  incundum 
(C.S.). 

19.  The  allusion  seems  to  be  to 
some  of  the  beautiful  stones  of  the 
east,  sometimes  used  for  the  posts 
and  thresholds  of  houses.  Ala- 
baster and  onyx  were  so  used  in 
the  dwellings  of  the  wealthy ;  cf. 
Pliny,  N.  H.  36,  3,  7_(C.  S.). 
Cf.  Tib.  3,  3,  14-16. — Arabium: 
similar  quantity  may  be  observed 
in  2.  10,  16.  et  passitn. 

20.  subire  :  '  to  steal  into.'  — 
toro:  poetic  dat.  Cf.  Ovid, 
Ex  P.    4,     15,    30:     ne    subeant 


226 


ELEGIARVM    IJBKR   I 


[I7i    2 


et  miserum  toto  iuvenem  versare  cubili : 
quid  relevant  variis  serica  textilibus  ? 

quae  mihi  dum  placata  aderit,  non  ulla  verebor 
regna  vel  Alcinoi  munera  despicere. 


17 

Et  merito,  quoniam  potui  fugisse  puellam  ! 
nunc  ego  desertas  adloquor  alcyonas. 

24.    vel  0  nee  at  aut  Mueller. 


animo  taedia  ius/a  tuo.  Perliaps 
this  construction  may  here  be 
partly  due  to  the  influence  of 
ostrino,  which  refers,  of  course,  to 
the  covering,  as  toro  does  prin- 
cipally to  the  cushion.  Love 
steals  under  the  gorgeous  couch 
and  cover,  and  the  youth  suddenly 
finds  that  even  there  he  is  not 
safe  from  such  attacks. 

21.  versare:  'to  make  him 
toss  ' ;  cf.  2,  22,  47  :  quanta  ilium 
toto  versant  suspiria  lecto. 

22.  quid  relevant :  cf.  Lucr.  2, 
34 :  nee  calidae  citius  decediint 
corpore  febres  textilibus  si  in  pic- 
turis  ostroque  rubenti  iacteris.  — 
variis  .  .  .  textilibus:  abl.  of  qual- 
ity, to  be  rendered  as  one  phrase 
with  serica:  '  variety  of  silken  fab- 
rics.'—serica  :  the  Seres,  the 
modern  Chinese,  furnished  textile 
fabrics  in  large  variety  :  garments, 
tapestries,  bedspreads,  and  even 
carpets.  Several  words  in  this 
elegy  indicate  the  wide  range  of 
Roman  commerce  in  search  of  rich 
and  rare  luxuries   (C  S.).      The 

22: 


material  used  by   the  Seres  gave 
the  generic  name,  'silks.' 

24.  vel:  we  should  expect  nee; 
but  we  have  such  sequences  as 
nee  .  .  .  vel,  e.g.  in  Tib.  i,  9,  59. 
—  Alcinoi :  the  king  of  the  Phaea- 
cians,  who  gave  such  liberal  gifts 
{munera)  to  Odysseus  (C  S.)  ; 
'gifts  like  those  of  Alcinous.' 


I.   17 

In  the  perils  of  a  storm  at  sea 
Propertius  bewails  his  folly  and 
fate  and  contrasts  his  death  with 
what  it  would  have  been  had  he 
died  at  Rome  amid  the  lamenta- 
tions of  his  mistress  (C.  8.). 
Whether  the  scene  was  real  or 
imaginary  we  have  no  means  of 
knowing.  If  it  was  real  the  anxie- 
ties caused  by  the  perils  of  the  sea 
were  unnecessary,  as  the  trip  did 
not  terminate  fatally.  The  poet 
seems  in  3,  21,  to  be  really  plan- 
ning flight  over  the  sea  to  Athens ; 
but  the  situation  here  cannot  be 
identified    with    one  at    that  late 


17.  3] 


PROPERTI 


nec  mihi  Cassiope  solito  visura  carinam, 
omniaque  ingrato  litore  vota  cadunt. 
5      quin  etiam  absent!  prosunt  tibi,  Cynthia,  venti : 
adspice,  quam  saevas  increpat  aura  minas. 

17.     3.    solito  0   solo  Palmer. 


Stage  of  the  progress  of  his  rela- 
tions with  Cynthia.  In  his  loneli- 
ness, his  hatred  of  the  sea,  his 
longing  for  his  loved  one,  as  well 
as  in  the  geographical  situation, 
he  is  like  Tibullus  in  1,3. 

1-4  :  'I  deserve  it  all,  for  having 
forsaken  my  darling.  5-12:  The 
storm  does  your  will,  Cynthia, 
upon  me ;  can  you  not  relent  ? 
Can  you  really  bear  that  I  should 
perish  thus?  13-18:  Cursed  be 
he  who  first  learned  to  sail  the 
sea!  Better  anything  than  its 
cruel  pitilessness!  19-24:  Had  I 
only  stayed  at  home,  even  to  die, 
my  love  would  have  shown  her 
heart  in  the  last  sad  offices.  25- 
28 :  Yet,  daughters  of  the  sea, 
come  to  my  help,  and  spare  me ! ' 

1.  Et  merito :  Propertius  u.su- 
ally  plunges  hi  inedias  res  at  once 
in  his  elegies,  several  times,  as  here, 
apparently  presupposing  a  con- 
siderable process  of  thought ;  cf. 
I,  9;  2,  10;  3,  7;  3,  23;  4,  7. 
This  habit  may  serve  to  justify  the 
divisions  of  the  poems  in  some 
cases.  Cf.  e.g.  i.  81^.  —  fugisse: 
of.  Tib.   I,  I,  29,  n. 

2.  desertas :  'lonely'  (C  S). 
—  alcyonas :  '  sea  birds  ' ;  strictly, 
kingfishers.  There  was  a  fancy 
that  they  were  connected  with  the 


sea,  aAs  :  hence,  halcedo. '  halcyon.'' 
The  "  halcyon  days "  were  the 
fourteen  days  of  the  bird's  incuba- 
tion, during  which  the  sea  was 
supposed  to  be  more  calm  and 
navigable  (C.  S.)  ;  cf.  3,  10,  9: 
alcyonum  positis  reqiiiescant  ora 
querellis. 

3.  Cassiope:  a  port  on  the 
northern  end  of  the  island  of 
Corcyra,  the  first  made  on  the 
regular  course  from  Brundusium 
to  Greece,  and  the  last  at  which 
navigators  called  on  the  return 
voyage.  Cf.  Cic.  Ad Fam.  16, 9,  I  ; 
Cell.  19,  I,  i;  Suet.  Nero^  22; 
Pliny,  N.  H.  4.  12,  52.—  solito: 
'as  usual '  (C.  S.).  This  absolute 
use  of  the  participle  is  an  easy  ex- 
tension of  the  more  common  one 
after  comparatives,  eg.  Livy,  24,  9  : 
plus  solito.  —  visura  :  sc.  est. 

4.  cadunt:  'fall  unnoticed,'  i.e. 
fail.  Cf.  the  modern  colloquial 
"fall  down." 

5.  prosunt:  'take  your  part' 
(C.S.). 

6.  increpat :  the  indicative  is 
used  because  the  dependent  clause 
has  more  the  nature  of  an  exclama- 
tion than  of  an  indirect  question. 
Such  constructions  are  found  even 
in  Cicero,  and  quite  often  in  the 
poets,    both    early   and   classical 


228 


ELEGlARVM    LlBER  I 


[«7.  >5 


nullane  placatae  veniet  fortuna  procellae  ? 
haecine  parva  meum  funus  arena  teget  ? 
tu  tamen  in  melius  saevas  converte  querellas 
lo  sat  tibi  sit  poenae  nox  et  iniqua  vada. 

an  poteris  siccis  mea  fata  reponere  ocellis, 

ossaque  nulla  tuo  nostra  tenere  sinu  ? 
ah  pereat,  quicumque  rates  et  vela  paravit 
primus  et  invito  gurgite  fecit  iter. 
15      nonne  fuit  levius  dominae  pervincere  mores 

II.    reponere  0    opponere  w    reposcere  Baehrens. 


They  follow  especially  verbs  of 
seeing  and  saying.  Cf.  Draeger, 
i55(C.  S.). 

7.  placatae  .  .  .  procellae : 
epexegetical   gen.    with  fortuna. 

8.  haecine  :  cf.  LSHLG.,  p.  80. 
—  funus  :  the  vocabulary  of  death 
is  rich  in  Propertius,  and  the 
variations  in  usage  manifold.  This 
word  here  means  '  dead  body,'  as 
in  4,  II,  3  (but  body  and  soul  are 
there  identified),  and  2i?,  fata  does 
in  V.  II.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  9,  491  : 
funus  laceriim  tellus  Jtabet. 

9.  Unless  Cynthia's  curses  cease 
soon  Propertius  believes  his  doom 
will  be  certain  death. 

10.  nox  :  '  the  blackness  of  the 
tempest '  (C  S.). 

11.  fata:  cf.  v.  8,  n.  —  repo- 
nere :  '  lay  away  '  i.e.  in  the  tomb  ; 
but  here  in  the  more  general  sense 
(cf.  'consign  to  earth'),  as  the 
place  and  circumstances  are 
thought  of  as  beyond  the  ken  of 
Cynthia.  Propertius  means  to 
say,  '  Could  you  bear  to  have  me 
die  where  you  couldn't  bury  me  ? ' 


12.  ossaque  .  .  .  tenere:  'and 
yet  not  be  able  to  clasp  to  your 
bosom.' — sinu:  for  the  burial 
custom  in  this  particular  see  B.  G. 
Exc.  12,  p.  519  (C.  S.)  ;  cf.  Tib. 
I,  3.  6. 

13.  pereat,  quicumque  :  naviga- 
tion was  an  exceedingly  perilous 
business  in  those  days,  and  Roman 
poetry  abounds  in  curses  on  the 
folly  of  tempting  Providence  by 
venturing  oiT  the  land.  E.g.  Tib. 
1,3,  50;  Prop.  3,7,29-32;  Hor. 
Car.  I,  3,  9  sqq.  :  illi robur  .  .  . 
erat,  qui  .  .  .  com»iisit  pelago 
rat  em. 

14.  primus :  the  invention  of 
ships  and  the  beginnings  of  naviga- 
tion are  variously  ascribed  to'Jason, 
Semiramis,  Danaus,  Erythras. 
The  Phoenicians  are  thought  to 
be  the  first  nation  that  engaged 
extensively  in  commerce.  But 
cf.  Tib.    i',  7,  20  (C.  S.). 

15.  Cf.  Verg.  Ec.  2,  14:  nonne 
fuit  satius,  tristes  Amaryllidis 
iras  atque  superba  pati  fastidia  f 
For  fuit  cf-  Madv.  348,  c. 


229 


17,  i6] 


PROPERTI 


20 


(quamvis  dura,  tamen  rara  puella  fuit), 
quam  sic  ignotis  circumdata  litora  silvis 

cernere  et  optatos  quaerere  Tyndaridas  ? 
illic  siqua  meum  sepelissent  fata  dolorem, 

ultimus  et  posito  staret  amore  lapis, 
ilia  meo  caros  donasset  funere  crines. 


16.    rara :  cf.  i,  8.  42. 

18.  optatos  .  .  .  Tyndaridas : 
Castor  and  Pollux,  whose  favor  as 
bringing  fair  weather  was  con- 
stantly sought  by  sailors ;  cf. 
BPli'.,  Vol.  30  (1910).  Sp.  517. 
Perhaps  the  origin  of  the  idea  is 
to  be  traced  to  the  convenience  of 
their  constellation,  Gemini,  as  a 
guide  for  pilots,  which  would  re- 
quire fair  weather,  of  course,  to  be 
useful,  and  the  desire  for  this 
would  cause  petitions  to  the  deified 
twins.  But  besides  this  the  phe- 
nomenon known  as  St.  Elmo's 
fire,  at  the  masthead,  was  early 
recognized  as  an  indication  of  the 
favor  of  Castor  and  Pollux.  Cf. 
Pliny.  N.  H.  2.  37,  loi  ;  Hor.  Car. 
1,3,2;  1,12,27;  4,8,31  ;  Cat.  68, 
65;  Geikie,  p.  341.  The  mother 
of  the  twins  was  Leda,  wife  of 
Tyndareus  ;  but  legend  and  litera- 
ture more  often  regard  Juppiter  as 
their  father. 

19.  illic:  at  Rome,  which  now 
seems  so  remote  as  to  suggest 
this  adverb.  There,  moreover, 
•she'  {illas  v.  21)  is,  the  poet  is 
thinking;  cf.  i.  12,  3,  n. 

20.  amore  may  be  taken  as 
practically  equivalent  to  amatore 
(•her  dead  lover');    cf.   2,28,39, 


n.  —  lapis  :    the  sepulchral   stone 
(C.S.). 

21.  meo  .  .  .  funere  :  with 
characteristic  vagueness  in  both 
words  and  syntax,  as  again  in 
e.xtremo  .  .  .  piilvere  in  v.  23, 
Propertius  leaves  us  in  doubt 
whether  he  refers  especially  to 
time  or  to  place.  Fortunately  for 
poets,  they  are  not  required  to 
parse  what  they  write ;  we  may 
render  the  expressions  respec- 
tively, '  would  have  presented  her 
dead  lover,'  and  '  would  have 
called  my  name  aloud  when  life 
had  forever  left  this  clay.' — crines  : 
the  friends  of  the  dead  often  cut 
off  their  hair  and  laid  it  sometimes 
on  the  breast  and  sometimes 
on  the  tomb  of  the  deceased.  Cf. 
Ovid.  Met.  3,  505  :  planxere 
sorores  Naideset  sectos  fratri  posn- 
ere  capillos.  Several  of  the  bur- 
ial customs  of  the  Romans  are 
indicated  in  this  and  the  following 
lines.  To  decorate  the  graves  of 
the  dead  with  flowers  seems  to  be 
a  natural  expression  of  the  heart 
in  all  ages,  but  probably  has  some 
significance  of  a  magic  or  mystical 
character  also.  Cf.  Siebourg  in 
Archiv.  f.  Religiotiswissensc/iaft, 
Vol.  8,  pp.  390,  sqq.     To  call  upon 


230 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   I 


[i8,  2 


molliter  et  tenera  poneret  ossa  rosa  : 
ilia  meum  extremo  clamasset  pulvere  nomen, 

ut  mihi  non  ullo  pondere  terra  foret. 
25      at  vos  aequoreae  formosa  Doride  natae, 

Candida  felici  solvite  vela  choro  : 
si  quando  vestras  labens  Amor  attigit  undas, 

mansuetis  socio  parcite  litoribus. 


18 


Haec  certe  deserta  loca  et  taciturna  querenti, 
et  vacuum  zephyri  possidet  aura  nemus : 


the  name  of  the  deceased  was 
usual  among  the  Romans.  S-  T- 
T-  L  (^sit  iibi  terra  levis)  was 
often  inscribed  on  the  tomb  as 
well  as  uttered  among  the  last 
farewells.  See  B.  G.  Exc.  12 
(C.  S.) .  The  conclainatio.  or  cus- 
tom of  having  all  present  shout 
loudly  the  name  of  the  deceased 
as  soon  as  death  appears  to  have 
taken  place,  is  still  practiced  on 
the  death  of  a  Pope  of  Rome. 

25.  Doride  natae :  Doris  was 
the  daughter  of  Oceanus  and 
Tethys.  She  married  Nereus  and 
was  the  mother  of  Nereids.  Pro- 
pertius  appeals  to  them  by  the 
fellowship  of  love  to  spare  him 
and  give  him  tranquil  waters 
(C.S.). 

28.  mansuetis  .  .  .  litoribus: 
instrumental.  —  socio  :  i-e-  because 
they  could  then  have  a  fellow-feel- 
ing for  his  distress. 


I,    18 

In  the  silent  solitude  of  the  for- 
est Propertius  bitterly  laments  the 
hardheartedness  of  Cynthia. 

1-8:  '  Here  at  least  I  may  utter 
my  complaint ;  but  where  shall 
I  begin  to  rehearse  my  sad  es- 
tate? 9-16:  What  have  I  done  to 
merit  thy  disdain  ?  Have  I  been 
unfaithful  ?  I  swear  I  have  not, 
richly  as  thou  deservest  to  be  for- 
saken. 17-22:  Or  do  I  not  protest 
enough  ?  the  very  trees  shall  wit- 
ness my  devotion.  23-26:  Or 
have  I  revealed  thy  infidelities  ?  I 
have  borne  all  in  silence.  27-32 
And  for  all  this  my  only  reward  is 
to  wander  lonely  in  the  wildwood 
and  make  it  vocal  with  the  echoes 
of  thy  name  ?' 

I.  Haec  certe:  the  poet  has 
been  almost  bursting  with  grief, 
and  only  here  at  last  does  he  find 


231 


1 8,  3] 


PROrERTI 


lO 


hie  licet  oceultos  proferre  inpune  dolores, 

si  modo  sola  queant  saxa  tenere  fidem. 
unde  tuos  primum  repetam,  mea  Cynthia,  f astus  ? 

quod  mihi  das  flendi,  Cynthia,  principium  ? 
qui  modo  felices  inter  numerabar  amantes, 

nunc  in  amore  tuo  cogor  habere  notam. 
quid  tantum  merui  ?  quae  te  mihi  crimina  mutant? 

an  nova  tristitiae  causa  puella  tuae  ? 
sic  mihi  te  referas,  levis,  ut  non  altera  nostro 

limine  formosos  intulit  ulla  pedes, 
quamvis  multa  tibi  dolor  hie  mens  aspera  debet, 

non  ita  saeva  tamen  venerit  ira  mea 

18.    g.    crimina  (o  carmina  0. 


relief  in  voicing    his   feelings. — 
querent! :    dat.  of  ref. 

2.  Cf.  Martial  6,  76,  6 :  ei 
famuliim  vidrix  possidet  umbra 
neinits. 

3.  oceultos  :  i.e.  up  to  this  time. 
—  inpung  :  note  the  shortening  of 
the  final  vowel. 

4.  Perhaps  the  poet  recalls  the 
legend  of  King  Midas  and  his  serv- 
ant, whose  secret  was  not  safe 
even  when  confided  only  to  a 
hole  in  the  ground.  Cf  Pers.  i, 
119. 

5.  'At  what  point  shall  I  begin 
to  rehearse  the  long  story  of  thy 
proud  disdain  ? ' 

7.  modo :  •  but  yesterday,'  it 
seemed  to  Propertius,  as  he  re- 
called the  heyday  of  his  love. 

8.  in  :  cf.  3,  2.  2,  n.  —  notam: 
known  to  the  world  as  Cynthia's 
discarded  love,  he  looks  upon  this 
knowledge  as  a  stigma,  like  the 
mark   of  disgrace  affixed  by  the 

23 


censors    to    a    citizen     degraded 
from  his  former  rank. 

9.  crimina  :  '  charges '  brought 
by  Cynthia  herself 

10.  an:  A,  335,  b. — tristi- 
tiae :  '  coldness.' 

11.  sic  .  .  .  ut :  cf.  Tib.  2,  5, 
63,  n.  —  levis:  'O  madam  light- 
of-love'  (Phillimore). 

12.  Cf.  Cat.  68,  70-72. — li- 
mine is  best  considered  instru- 
mental, but  rendered  'over  my 
threshold.' 

13:  aspera:  substantive  use: 
'  bitter  experiences  '  (cf.  colloquial 
'bad  quarter  of  an  hour'). — 
debet:  poetic  indie,  with  quam- 
v/s ;  cf.  L.  1906;  H.  586,  2,  2; 
A.  527,  e. 

14.  venerit :  vem'o  and  eo  are 
not  infrequent  equivalents  of  sum 
in  Propertius;  cf.  i,  15,  4:  /« 
nostro  lenta  timore  vents ;  i,  4, 
I  o :  inferior  dura  iudice  turpis 
eat. 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[i8,  23 


-X 


20 


"VyJUC? 


ut  tibi  sim  merito  semper  furor  et  tua  flendo 

lumina  deiectis  turpia  sint  lacrimis. 
an  quia  parva  damus  mutato  signa  colore 

et  non  ulla  meo  clamat  in  ore  fides  ? 
vos  eritis  testes,  siquos  habet  arbor  amores, 

fagus  et  Arcadio  pinus  arnica  deo. 
ah  quotiens  teneras  resonant  mea  verba  sub  umbras, 
^     scribitur  et  vestris  Cynthia  corticibus  ! 
-^an  tua  quod  peperit  nobis  iniuria  curas, 

17.   colore  0  calore  V2. 


15.  furor:  cf.  HaqDer's  Lex. 
s.v.  2  ;  Pichon  s.71.  at  the  end. 

16.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  I,  51-52;  2,  6, 
41-43;  Ovid,  Am.  3,  6,  57-60: 
qjtid  fles  et  madidos  lacrimis  cor- 
rumpis  ocellos  pectoraqiie  iiisana 
plangis  aperta  majiu  ?  ille  habet 
et  silices  et  vivion  in  pectore  fer- 
rum,  qui  tenero  lacrimas  lent  us  in 
ore  videt. 

17.  The  second  possible  charge 
against  the  poet-lover, — ifiere  again, 
as  in  the  previous  instance,  in  the 
form  of  an  indignant  question,  im- 
plying a  negative  answer,  —  is  that 
he  gives  little  external  manifesta- 
tion of  his  passion,  such  as  young 
and  ardent  lovers  usually  exhibit, 
viz.  in  countenance  and  in  words. 
—  mutato  .  .  .  colore  :  cf.  i,  6,  6, 
n.  Probably  both  the  temporary 
change  of  the  occasional  blush, 
and  the  more  permanent  change 
from  normal  color  to  the  habitual 
paleness  traditionally  ascribed  to 
lovers  are  in  the  mind  of  the  poet. 


18.  in  ore  fides:  'pledge  on 
my  lips';  cf  Ovid,  Her.  2,  31  : 
iura^  fides  uhi  nunc  commissaque 
dextera  dextrae,  quique  erat  in 
falso  plurimus  ore  dens  ? 

19.  Propertius  answers  that 
much  more  enduring  signs  are  on 
the  trees,  and  that  the  woods  are 
vocal  with  his  '  protestations  of 
fidelity. 

20.  fagus  :  the  tree  that  stili 
serves  best  for  the  carving  of 
sweethearts'  names.  —  pinus  arnica 
deo:  Pitys^  a  nymph  beloved  by 
Pan,  was  changed  into  a  pine. 
This  tree  would  thus  easily  be 
thought  of  as  especially  sympa- 
thetic with  lovers'  confidences. 

23.  The  third  possible  charge. 
—  peperit :  '  brought  forth  '  =  '  re- 
vealed.'—  iniuria:  'the  wrongs 
you  have  done  me'  ;  a  regular 
word  for  infidelity  in  the  elegiac 
writers  ;  cf.  3,  25.  7  ;  Cat.  72,  7.  — 
curas  :  the  bitterness  of  heart  that 
lovers  know.  * 


233 


1 8,  24] 


PROPERTI 


\., 


quae  solum  tacitis  cognita  sunt  foribus  ? 
25      omnia  consuevi  timidus  perferre  superbae 
iussa,  neque  arguto  facta  dolore  queri. 
pro  quo  divini  fontes  et  frigida  rupes 
et  datur  inculto  tramite  dura  quies : 
et  quodcumque  meae  possunt  narrare  querellae, 
30  cogor  ad  argutas  dicere  solus  aves. 

sed  qualiscumque  es,  resonant  mihi  '  Cynthia '  silvae 
nee  deserta  tuo  nomine  saxa  vacent. 


27.    divini  fontes  0  dumosi  monies  Heinsius  mi  duri  monies  Enk  suggests. 


24.  quae:  the  gender  may  be 
explained  by  noting  that  it  refers 
here  not  so  much  to  curas  (its  ap- 
parent antecedent)  as  to  the  ex- 
pression of  them,  which  would  be 
in  verba.  —  solum  .  .  .  cognita  sunt : 
i.e.  hitherto  have  been ;  Cynthia 
fears  now  that  in  desperation  they 
may  have  been  uttered.  —  foribus  : 
the  doors  of  his  mistress's  house 
have  told  no  tales  of  what  had 
happened  there,  —  all  too  well 
known  to  Propertius,  shut  out 
while  others  were  admitted. 

25.  perferre:  'to  endure  in 
silence.'  —  superbae:  of.  3,  24,  2, 
et  passim. 

26.  arguto :  'loud-mouthed,' 
'  blabbing.' 

27.  quo  :  refers  to  the  whole  pa- 
tient and  discreet  conduct  of  the 
poet  as  described  above.  —  divini : 
a  mere  variation  from  the  more 
common  epithet,  sacri :  cf.  Verg. 
Ec.  1,52:  hie  inter  fluntina  not  a 
et  fontes  sacros  frigus  captabis 


opacunt]  Hor.   Car.  1,1,  22  :  ad 

aquae  Icne  caput  sacrae;  Milton, 
Ode  on  the  Morning  of  Chrisfs 
Natinity  :  "  The  lonely  mountains 
o'er.  And  the  resounding  shore,  A 
voice  of  weeping  heard,  and  loud 
lament ;  From  haunted  spring,  and 
dale,  Edg'd  with  poplar  pale." 

30.  Cf.  I,  17,  2. 

31.  qualiscumque:  though  the 
poet  was  rash  enough,  in  this  tem- 
porary estrangement  in  the  earlier 
period  of  his  passion,  to  risk  such 
a  universal  declaration,  we  see 
from  3,  24,  18,  and  other  passages 
in  that  and  the  following  poem 
that  his  eyes  were  entirely  opened, 
and  a  complete  revulsion  of  senti- 
ment took  place.  —  Cynthia  :  voc 
This  is  the  cry  uttered  repeatedly 
by  the  poet,  as  he  wanders  to  and 
fro,  and  as  such  is  used  without 
change  of  form,  in  apposition  to 
an  implied  verburn.  Cf.  Verg. 
Ae)i.  4,  383  :  nomine  Dido  saepe 
vocaturutn. 


234 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[19,  7 


19 

Non  ego  nunc  tristes  vereor,  mea  Cynthia,  nianes, 
nee  moror  extreme  debita  fata  rogo  : 

sed  ne  forte  tuo  careat  mihi  funus  amore, 
hie  timor  est  ipsis  durior  exequiis. 

non  adeo  leviter  nostris  puer  haesit  ocellis, 
ut  mens  oblito  pulvis  amore  vacet. 

illic  Phyiacides  iucundae  coniugis  heros 


With    a    lover's     forebodings, 
Propertius    anticipates    an    early 
death,  but  dreads   only  the  pos- 
sibility   that    Cynthia's    love    will 
vthen  die  too. 

/1-4:  'I  fear  not  death,  only 
that  you  will  cease  to  love  me 
when  I  am  in  the  tomb;  5-10: 
for  my  own  love  defies  death,  like 
the  love  of  Protesilaus,  11-18: 
and  will  remain  absolutely  true  t-o 
you  in  the  spirit-world.  19-24:  O 
that  you  may  be  conscious  of  this 
fidelity!  that  I  may  be  spared  my 
fear  that  your  love  will  be  stolen 
away  from  me.  25-26:  Then  let 
us  love  here  while  we  may! ' 

I.  nunc  seems  to  imply  a 
reconciliation  with  Cynthia. — 
manes :  the  development  of  the 
meaning  is:  'spirits  of  the  dead,' 
then  'association  with  these 
spirits,'  therefore  '  condition  of 
death.'  In  nothing  does  Pro- 
pertius show  a  wider  imagination 


than  in  his  treatment  of  the  idea 
of  death,  for  which  his  metonymic 
expressions  in  this  poem  alone 
include,  besides  this  word,  fata 
(2,),fu7ius  (3),  exequiis  {i\),  fail 
{12), favilla  (19).  Only  at  length 
in  V.  20  does  the  poet  reach  the 
point  of  speaking  plainly  the  ill- 
omened  word  7/iors.  Cf.  also 
pulvis  (6),  and  pulvere  (22),  and 
ossa  (18). 

2.  moror:  see  Lex.  s.v.  2,  B. 
2. — fata:  the  word  includes  the 
ideas  of  necessity,  death,  and 
burning  (C.  S.). 

5.  puer:  Cupid.  —  haesit:  cf. 
2,  12,  13-15.  —  ocellis:  where  love 
first  enters. 

6.  meus  .  .  .  pulvis:  'even 
when  I  am  but  dust  and  ashes.' 
—  oblito  :  pass.  —  vacet :  the  an- 
tithesis oi haesit :  'forget  my  love 
and  again  be  unpossessed.' 

7.  illic  :  the  unseen  world  sug- 
gested by  pulvis^  and  further 
specified  in  the  next  verse.  — 
Phyiacides:  Protesilaus;  cf.  Cat. 
68,  74,  n. 


235 


19,  8] 


PROPERTI 


lO 


'5 


non  potuit  caecis  inmemor  esse  locis, 
sed  cupidus  falsis  attingere  gaudia  palmis, 

Thessalis  antiquam  venerat  umbra  domum. 
illic  quidquid  ero,  semper  tua  dicar  imago : 

traicit  et  fati  litora  magnus  amor, 
illic  formosae  veniant  chorus  heroinae, 

quas  dedit  Argivis  Dardana  praeda  viris ; 
quarum  nulla  tua  fuerit  mihi,  Cynthia,  forma 

gratior,  et  (Tellus  hoc  ita  iusta  sinat) 
quamvis  te  longae  remorentur  fata  senectae, 

cara  tamen  lacrimis  ossa  futura  meis. 


19.    lo.   Thessalis  DV  Thessalus  NAF. 


g.  falsis  .  .  .  palmis  :  '  with  his 
mere  semblances  of  hands ' ;  cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  6,  292 :  ietnies  sine 
corpore  vitas.  —  gaudia  :  '  his  dar- 
ling'; cf.  Cat.  2,  5:  desiderio 
meo  nitenti  (C.  S.). 

10.  Thessalis  .  .  .  umbra:  'a 
mere  ghost  of  a  Thessalian,' 
predicate  use. 

11.  At  first  sight  the  certainty 
of  the  second  part  of  the  verse 
seems  inconsistent  with  the  in- 
definiteness  of  the  first.  But  the 
poet  means  to  doubt  only  with 
reference  to  the  conditions  of  ex- 
istence in  the  world  of  shades ; 
that  he  as  a  shade  will  still  be 
known  to  all  as  her  lover  he  can- 
not doubt. 

12.  A  noble  line,  where  the 
longing  for  immortality  defies  the 
narrow  confines  of  the  senses. 

13.  chorus:  in  apposition  with 
heroinae :  '  the  band  of  beautiful 
heroines,'     Helen,     Andromache, 


Cassandra,  Briseis,  Tecmessa,  etc. 
(C.  S.). 

15.  fuerit:  the  poet  uses  the 
most  positive  mood  and  tense 
(fut.  perf.)  possible,  regardless 
of  the  form  of  the  implied  con- 
dition in  V.  13. 

16.  Tellus:  as  goddess  of  the 
underworld.  CfH.&T.  §213. — 
hoc :  the  long  life  for  Cynthia 
referred  to  in  the  next  verse,  here 
unselfishly  asked  of  the  goddess 
who  sooner  or  later  claims  all  for 
her  own.  To  refer  /loc  to  the 
same  confident  assurance  of  eternal 
fidelity  already  expressed  in  the 
previous  verses  would  be  bathos.  — 
ita  =  /tac  condicione  and  belongs 
to  insta ;  i.e.  Tellus  would  be  just 
only  in  case  she  grants  this  per- 
mission. 

18.  Cf  I,  6,  24.  —  ossa :  sc.  tim. 
Propertius  asserts  again  that  no 
matter  how  long  it  may  be  before 
Cynthia's   bones   shall   lie  beside 


236 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   I 


[22,  a 


20 


25 


quae  tu  viva  mea  possis  sentire  favilla ! 

turn  mihi  non  ullo  mors  sit  amara  loco, 
quam  vereor  ne  te  contempto,  Cynthia,  busto 

abstrahat  a  nostro  pulvere  iniquus  Amor, 
cogat  et  invitam  lacrimas  siccare  cadentes ! 

flectitur  adsiduis  certa  puella  minis, 
quare,  dum  licet,  inter  nos  laetemur  amantes: 

non  satis  est  ullo  tempore  longus  amor. 


22 

Qualis  et  unde  genus,  qui  sint  mihi,  Tulle,  penates, 
quaeris  pro  nostra  semper  amicitia. 


iiis  own  in  the  common  receptacle 
of  all  mankind,  lie  shall  ever  re- 
main faithful  to  her,  and  this  verse 
seems  vaguely  to  foreshadow  an 
affectionate  reunion.  There  was 
no  general  uniformity  of  belief 
among  the  Romans  as  to  the 
future  state.  Cf  H.  &  T.  §  9  ;  Cat. 
96,  I,  n. 

19.  mea  .  .  .  favilla :  '  when  I 
am  already  but  dust  and  ashes.'  The 
expression  is  one  of  the  extreme 
liberties  which  Propertius  takes 
with  the  language.     Cf.  i,  17,  21,  n. 

21.    contempto:  /V.  by  you. 

24.  certa  :  '  however  constant ' 
(C.  S.) .  The  poet  courteously  for- 
gets his  past  experiences  with  his 
inconstant  mistress. 

25.  dum  licet  .  .  .  laetemur 
amantes:  cf.  Tib.  i,  i,  69  sqq.  ; 
Cat.  5,  I  :  Vivatnus,  mea  Lesbia, 
atque  amemus. 

26.  noti  est  ullum  tempus  ubi 
dtcas,  amor  est  satis  longus. 


I,  22 

Following  the  fashion  of  Angus-  _ 
tan  poets  (cf.  Verg.  Georg.  4,  559- 
566;  Hot;  Ep.  i,  20,  19-28; 
Ov\di,Amor.  3,  15.  and  Trist.  4, 
10)  Propertius  closes  this  first 
book,  which  was  independently 
published,  with  an  autobiograph- 
ical statement,  a  statement  chiefly 
remarkable  for  its  vagueness.  For 
the  author  gives  the  public  (for 
whom,  of  course,  the  poem  w^as 
really  intended)  no  definite  in- 
formation as  to  his  name  or  his 
birthplace,  and  very  httle  as  to  / 
his  family. 

i-io:  'Tullus,  as  a  friend  you 
ask  me  of  my  origin.  If  you  know 
accursed  Perugia,  you  know  the 
neighboring  part  of  Umbria,  my 
birthplace.' 

I.  Qualis:  of  what  general 
stock,  e.g.  whether  Campanian, 
Etruscan,   Latin,   or   Umbrian. — 


23; 


22,    3] 


PROPERTI 


lo 


si  Perusina  tibi  patriae  sunt  nota  sepulcra, 

Italiae  duris  funera  temporibus, 
cum  Romana  suos  egit  discordia  cives 

(sic,  mihi  praecipue,  puivis  Etrusca,  dolor, 
tu  proiecta  mei  perpessa  es  membra  propinqui, 

tu  nullo  miseri  contegis  ossa  solo), 
proxima  supposito  contingens  Umbria  campo 

me  genuit  terris  fertilis  uberibus. 


unde :  referring  to  birthplace.  — 
genus :  ace.  of  specification  be- 
longing to  both  quail's  and  unde. 
sc.  sim  from  the  shit;  cf.  for 
similar  omission  of  the  subjunc- 
tive I,  8,  2)7 ■ — Tulle:  the  book 
suitably  closes  with  an  envoy 
addressed  to  the  same  friend  to 
whom  he  speaks  in  the  opening 
poem.  Cf.  Intr.  §32. — penates  : 
the  gods  of  the  household  store 
evidently  here  connote  the  circum- 
stances, social  rank,  etc,  of  the 
family.  The  poet  reserves  his 
answer  to  this  question  altogether 
for  the  present,  to  be  given  in  4, 
1, 129-134  in  connection  with  more 
exact  information  as  to  his  birth- 
place. 

2.  semper :  an  adverb  with  ad- 
jectival force  is  not  an  uncommon 
phenomenon  in  good  prose  as  well 
as  poetry,  being  especially  fre- 
quent in  Livy ;  cf.  i,  1,2;  Livy, 
21,  8,  5 :  tres  deinceps  tnrres ; 
Ter.  Andr.  175;  eri  semper  lenitas : 
Cic.  De  N.  D.  2,  66,  166 :  deoriim 
saepe  praesertttae. 

3.  si  .  .  .  sunt  nota :  the 
apodosis  is  in  the  ellipsis  to  be 
supplied   in    connection  with    vv. 


9-10.  —  Perusina   .    .    .    sepulcra: 

the  gruesome  mortality  of  the 
civil  conflict  known  as  the  helhan 
Penisinion  (41-40  B.C.)  impressed 
the  Romans  unusually.  Cf.  Cat. 
68,  89-90. 

4.  Italiae :  best  taken  with 
funera,  which  unmodified  would 
seem  vague. 

5.  Romana :  the  identity  of 
meaning  between  this  word, 
patriae  (v.  3),  and  Italiae  (v.  4) 
at  this  period  is  noteworthy.  — 
egit :  '  pursued,"  as  in  Hor.  Epod. 
7,  1 7  :  acerbafata  Ronianos  agunt. 

6.  sic  :  '  hence,'  i.e.  due  to  the 
discordia. — puivis  Etrusca  :  for  the 
gender  cf.  2,  13,  35. 

7.  proiecta:  i.e.  rather  than 
conposita,  as  they  would  naturally 
be. — propinqui:  very  likely  the 
Callus  of  the  preceding  elegy. 

9.  supposito  .  .  .  campo :  dat. 
with  proxima ;  supposito  refers 
to  the  hilltop  of  Perugia.  —  con- 
tingens :  adjective :  '  the  neigh- 
boring part  of  Umbria,  adjacent 
to  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  Perugia's 
hill.'  This  makes  Assisi  possi- 
ble, or  any  other  of  the  proposed 
sites. 


238 


ELEGIAKVM    LIBER   II 


[lo,  4 


LIBER   SECVNDVS 

lO 

Sed  tempus  lustrare  aliis  Helicona  choreis, 
et  campum  Haemonio  iam  dare  tempus  equo. 

iam  libet  et  fortes  memorare  ad  proelia  turmas, 
et  Romana  mei  dicere  castra  ducis. 


2,  lO 

The  poet,  possibly  inspired  by 
a  hint  from  court,  tries  to  raise 
himself  to  the  epic  level  and  sing 
of  the  contemporary  triumphs  of 
Roman  arms,  but  finding  the  task 
beyond  his  strength,  falls  back 
upon  his  familiar  erotic  verse.  Cf. 
3,  3,  Intr. 

I-I2:  'It  is  time  to  try  my 
hand  at  celebrating  military  tri- 
umphs;  13-18:  and  the  glory  of 
Caesar's  arms  furnishes  abundant 
material.  19-26:  Some  day!  — 
My  humble  Muse  dares  not  yet 
essay  so  lofty  themes." 

It  was  this  poem  that  Lachmann, 
on  insufiicient  grounds,  thought 
began  a  new  (third)  book.  See 
Intr.  §  34. 

From  the  various  historical 
references  in  vv.  13-18  it  appears 
that  the  elegy  must  have  been 
written  after  the  Indian  envoys 
came  to  Augustus  in  26  or  25 
B.C.,  but  not  later  than  the  early 
part  of  24  B.C.,  in  the  latter  part 


of  which  year  the  Arabian  expedi- 
tion came  to  grief. 

1.  Sed:  cf.  i,  17,  i,  n.  There 
is  no  need  of  assuming  a  preceding 
lacuna  in  the  Mss.  —  choreis  :  the 
poet  elsewhere  also  imagines  him- 
self joining  in  the  round  dance  of 
the  inspiring  Muses  at  their 
favorite  haunts  ;  cf.  3,  1,4. 

2.  campum :  i.e.  free  scope. 
From  the  association  with  the 
following  words  we  can  readily 
conjure  up  the  long  line  of  events 
worthy  of  epic  treatment  associated 
by  the  poets  with  the  plains  of 
Thessaly,  from  the  battles  of  gods 
and  giants,  Centaurs,  and  Lapi- 
thae  to  the  critical  day  of  Phar- 
salus.  —  Haemonio  .  .  .  equo:  the 
famous  horses  of  Thessaly  were 
adapted  for  battle,  or  for  the  chariot- 
race  deeds  of  glory. 

3-  fortes  ...  ad :  cf.  Ovid, 
Fast.  2,  688  :  fortis  ad  arma. 

4.  Romana:  the  glory  of  Rome 
is  the  first  consideration.  —  mei 
.  .  .  ducis :  the  glorification  of 
Augustus  is  inseparably  joined  to 
the  prosperity  of  the  empire. 


239 


lo,  5] 


PROPERTI 


\o 


15 


quod  si  deficiant  vires,  audacia  certe 

laus  erit :  in  raagnis  et  voluisse  sat  est. 
aetas  prima  canat  Veneres,  extrema  tumultus : 

bella  canam,  quando  scripta  puella  meast. 
nunc  volo  subducto  gravior  procedere  vultu, 

nunc  aliam  citharam  me  mea  musa  docet. 
surge,  anima,  ex  humili  iam  carmine:  sumite  vires, 

Pierides:  magni  nunc  erit  oris  opus, 
iam  negat  Euphrates  equitem  post  terga  tueri 

Parthorum,  et  Crassos  se  tenuisse  dolet :    ^ 
India  quin,  Auguste,  tuo  dat  colla  triumpho, 


e^Ay 


5.  audacia  :  '  courage,'  a  rela- 
tively rare  usage.  With  these 
two  verses  cf.  Tib.  4.  i,  3-7:  a 
jneritis  si  carinina  laudes,  defi- 
ciant .  .  .  est  nobis  voluisse  satis. 

6.  laus  :  '  a  ground  for  praise  ' ; 
'  praiseworthy.' 

7.  extrema:  a  poetic  hyperbole, 
as  Propertius  was  still  a  young 
man  of  less  than  thirty  years. 

8.  quando  :  causal,  a  Cicero- 
nian, yet  comparatively  rare  use. — 
scripta  puella  :  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  practically  the  whole  of 
this  book  is  as  completely  devoted 
to  Cynthia  and  the  theme  of  love, 
as  is  the  preceding  book. 

9.  subducto  .  .  -  vultu  prob- 
ably refers  to  elevating  the  eye- 
brows, in  scornful  disdain  of  the 
erotic  follies  of  youth ;  •  with 
frowning  visage.' 

10.  aliam  citharam :  'different 
strains,'  i.e.  poetry  in  a  loftier 
style. 

12.  magni  .  .  .  oris:  'sono- 
rous tone ' ;  cf.  Verg.  Georg.  3, 294 : 


magna  nunc  ore  sonandum.  For 
the  case  cf.  Livy,  22,  51,  3:  ad 
coiisiliitin  pensandum  temporis 
opus  esse. — nunc  :  i.e.  from  now  on. 

13.  Euphrates:  practically  the 
western  boundary  of  the  Parthian 
sway  in  its  period  of  greatest  ex- 
tent. —  post  terga  tueri :  the  char- 
acteristic strategy  of  the  Parthians. 
Cf.  3.  9,  54- 

14.  Parthorum  :  this  elegy  was 
written  about  the  time  of  that  con- 
test for  the  Parthian  throne  be- 
tween Phraates  and  Tiridates 
which  gave  Augustus  opportunity 
for  effective  diplomacy  in  dealing 
with  this  people.  Cf.  Hor.  Car. 
I,  26,  5  :  quid  Tiridaten  t  err  eat . — 
Crassos  .  .  .  tenuisse :  both  father 
and  son  lost  their  lives  through 
Parthian  treachery  in  53  B.C.,  and 
neither  their  ashes  nor  their  stand- 
ards had  yet  been  restored.  The 
latter  were  finally  recovered  in 
20  B.C. 

15.   India:     an    embassy    from 


India  is  said  to  have  found  Augus- 


240 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[lo,  26 


et  domus  intactae  te  tremit  Arabiae  : 
et  siqua  extremis  tellus  se  subtrahit  oris, 

sentiat  ilia  tuas  post  modo  capta  manus. 
haec  ego  castra  sequar.     vates  tua  castra  canendo 
20  magnus  ero.     servent  hunc  mihi  fata  diem  ! 

ut  caput  in  magnis  ubi  non  est  tangere  signis, 

ponitur  hie  imos  ante  corona  pedes, 
sic  nos  nunc,  inopes  laudis  conscendere  culmen, 

pauperibus  sacris  vilia  tura  damns. 
25      nondum  etiam  Ascraeos  norunt  mea  carmina  fontes, 

sed  modo  Permessi  flumine  lavit  Amor. 


10.    22,    hie  DV  hac  NF. 


23.    culmen  <a  carmen  0  currum  Markland. 


tus  in  Spain  in  26-25  ^■^-  !  but 
the  last  part  of  this  verse  must  be 
set  down  as  pure  adulation. 

16.  Arabiae :  the  march  of 
Aelius  Gallus  into  this  land  of 
fabulous  wealth  in  24  B.C.  was  im- 
mediately followed  by  an  igno- 
minious retreat  before  the  heat  and 
pestilence  which  were  rapidly 
eating  up  his  army.  Cf.  i,  14, 
19,  n. 

17.  When  Augustus  set  out  for 
Gaul  in  27  B.C.,  it  was  understood 
that  one  of  his  objects  was  a  cam- 
paign of  conquest  in  Britain. 
This,  however,  never  materialized. 

18.  post  modo  :  Propertius  hints 
that  the  plan  may  be  renewed 
under  more  favorable  conditions. 

19.  haec :  i.e.  rather  than  the 
camp  of  Love.  Cf.  4,  i,  135  ; 
Tib.  I,  I.  75. 

20.  servent  .  .  .  diem :  i.e.  till 
I  am  ready  for  it ;  an  inverted 
manner  of  saying,  '  let  me  live  to 
see  it.' 

ROM.  EL.  POETS —  1 6  24 


21.  in:   'in  the  case  of.' 

22.  hie:  from  the  standpoint  of 
one  standing  at  the  base. 

23.  nunc :  as  contrasted  with 
the  dion  of  v.  20.  —  inopes:  'too 
weak  ' ;  the  only  case  where  this 
word  is  followed  by  the  epexe- 
getical  infinitive. 

24.  The  use  of  incense  alone 
became  more  and  more  restricted 
to  the  simple  household  sacrifices 
or  preliminary  offerings  in  public 
sacrifices ;  those  who  were  able 
offered  more  costly,  bloody  sacri- 
fices ;  cf.  CIL.  6,  2065  ;  Suet.  Tib. 
70;   Livy,  10,  23,  I  ;  43,  13,  8. 

25.  Ascraeos  .  .  .  fontes  :  Aga- 
nippe and  Hippocrene,  the  famous 
haunts  of  the  Muses  and  supposed 
sources  of  poetic  inspiration.  The 
tradition  was  fostered  by  the  fact 
that  Hesiod  may  have  been  born 
at  Ascra,  and  certainly  lived  there. 

26.  Permessi :  a  little  stream 
which  included  among  its  sources 
one  or  both  of  the  storied  springs 


a,  i] 


PROPERTI 


I  I 


Scribant  de  te  alii  vel  sis  ignota,  licebit : 
laudet,  qui  sterili  semina  ponit  humo. 

omnia,  crede  mihi,  tecum  uno  munera  lecto 
auferet  extremi  funeris  atra  dies  : 

et  tua  transibit  contemnens  ossa  viator, 
nee  dicet  '  cinis  hie  docta  puella  fuit. 

11.    3.    tecum  0  secum  «. 


referred  to  in  the  previous  verse. 
Propertius  does  not  venture  yet  to 
drini<  from  the  fountain-head  of 
poetry,  but  has  only  dipped  into 
the  stream  of  inspiration  that  is 
derived  thence.  Cf.  2,  13,  4-6. 
Perhaps  in  both  passages  he  was 
thinking  of  the  phrase  in  Verg. 
Ec.  6,  64 :  errantem  Permessi  ad 
flu7nhia  Galium. 

2,  II 

Having  now  deliberately  de- 
cided to  stick  to  erotic  poetry 
for  the  present,  Propertius  warns 
Cynthia  that  unless  his  services 
are  appreciated  her  name  will 
perish  at  her  death.  There  is  no 
reason  to  consider  the  poem  other 
than  complete  as  it  stands.  1-6: 
'  Whether  you  find  others  or  not 
to  celebrate  your  claims,  they  will 
perish  with  you.' 

1.  te  :  the  poet  feels  it  unneces- 
sary to  name  Cynthia. 

2.  laudet :  as  subject,  we  are  to 
understand  any  of  the  alii  of  the 


preceding  verse ;  as  object,  the 
munera  of  v.  3,  which  would  be 
the  natural  theme  of  any  new 
adorer  of  Cynthia.  This  is  the 
beginning  of  a  new  tone,  which  re- 
veals a  different  attitude  toward 
Cynthia.  —  sterili  semina  ponit 
humo :  proverbial,  indicating 
wasted  labor.  Cf.  Sen.  De  Ben.  i, 
1,2:  semina  in  solu>n  effetum  et 
sterile  7ion  spargimus. 

3.  omnia :  cf.  Lucian,  Dial. 
Mart.  18,  I  sqq. ;  24,  2;  Shak. 
Hamlet,  5,1:  "  to  this  favour  she 
must  come."  —  crede  mihi:  Pro- 
pertius finds  Cynthia  an  unwilling 
listener.  —  munera  :  '  gifts  and 
graces.'  Cf  i,  2,  passim  ;  2,  12, 
23-24;  3.  20,  7.  These  munera 
are  both  physical  and  mental.  — 
lecto :  '  bier.' 

4.  extremi :  '  which  ends  all. ' 
—  atra:  cf.  Tib.  i,  3,4;  Verg. 
Aen.  6,  429  :  abstulit  atra  dies  et 
funere  mersit  acerbo. 

6.  docta  puella  :  cf.  1,7,  11,  n.; 
2,  13,  II,  n. 


242 


ELKGIARVM    LIBER    II 


[12,   5 


12 


QuicLimque  ille  fuit  puerum  qui  pinxit  Amorem, 
nonne  putas  miras  hunc  habuisse  manus  ? 

is  primum  vidit  sine  sensu  vivere  amantes 
et  levibus  curis  magna  perire  bona. 

idem  non  frustra  ventosas  addidit  alas, 

12.    3.    is  NDV  hie  F. 


2,     12 

The  genius  of  the  inventor  of  a 
familiar  art  type  of  Eros,  the  usual 
one  from  the  Hellenistic  period  ; 
cf.  Gardner,  Greek  Sculpt.,  p.  364. 
Propertius  appears  to  be  speaking 
of  a  painting  or  paintings  quite 
well  known  to  his  readers,  per- 
haps wall  frescoes  in  Rome.  The 
thought  is  not  original.  For  paral- 
lels cf.  e.g.  Mosclius,  Id.  1,16  sqq.  ; 
Meleager,  pa.'tsv/i ;  Quint.  2,  4,  26. 

1-12:  'It  was  a  clever  con- 
ception to  paint  Cupid  as  a  thought- 
less, winged  boy,  with  quiver  full 
of  barbed  arrows,  flitting  about 
from  heart  to  heart,  and  swiftly 
wounding  his  victims.  13-16: 
The  picture  is  true  to  life  in  my 
case,  except  that  the  wings  are 
apparently  lacking,  and  the  god 
remains,  in  incessant  warfare 
against  my  peace.  17-24:  Why, 
Cupid,  not  try  your  weapons  on 
another  ?  I  am  reduced  already 
to  a  mere  shadow  of  myself.  If 
you  destroy  me  utterly,  who  will 
sing  the  claims  of  my  lady?' 


1 .  puerum  :  '  as  a  boy.'  —  qui : 
sc  pi'imus. 

2.  miras:  in  imagination  more 
than  technique  ;  a  transfer  of  the 
work  of  the  brain  to  the  hands. 

3.  primum  .  .  .  sine  sensu: 
referring  to  the  quality  of  puerili- 
tas  implied  in  v.  i.  Cupid  has 
the  boyish  lack  of  wisdom  in  esti- 
mating values  (as  well  as  a  dis- 
regard of  the  suffering  of  others), 
a  motive  that  predominates  in  clas- 
sical comedy  —  "  Love  is  blind.' 
Cf  Shak.  Mids.  Night's  Dream,  i, 
1,236-239:  "Nor  hath  Love's  mind 
of  any  judgment  taste  ;  Wings  and 
no  eyes  figure  unheedy  haste  :  And 
therefore  is  Love  said  to  be  a 
child.  Because  in  choice  he  is  so 
oft  beguiled." 

4.  curis  :  i.e.  ajnoribiis.  Cf.  3, 
21,3. — bona:  e.g.  wealth,  social 
connections,  etc. 

5.  ventosas  :  'like  those  of  the 
wind.'  Vergil  {Aen.  12,  848) 
uses  exactly  the  same  phrase  of 
the  Furies :  ventosasque  addidit 
alas.  Swiftness  and  fickleness 
are  both  in  the  mind  of  the  poet. 


243 


12,  6] 


PROPERTI 


lo 


IS 


fecit  et  humano  corde  volare  deum  ; 
scilicet  alterna  quoniam  iactamur  in  unda, 

nostraque  non  iillis  permanet  aura  locis. 
et  merito  hamatis  manus  est  armata  sagittis 

et  pharetra  ex  umero  Gnosia  utroque  iacet ; 
ante  ferit  quoniam,  tuti  quam  cernimus  hostem, 

nee  quisquam  ex  illo  vulnere  sanus  abit. 
in  me  tela  manent,  manet  et  puerilis  imago  : 

sed  certe  pennas  perdidit  ille  suas, 
evolat  heu  nostro  quoniam  de  pectore  nusquam, 

adsiduusque  meo  sanguine  bella  gerit. 


15.    heu  Muretus  e  N  e  DFV. 


Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  2,  9,  49 :  iu  levis  es 
inultoque  tiiis  ventosior  alts. 

6.  fecit :  'represented.''  —  hu- 
mano corde  volare  deum  :  '  the  god 
as  flying  from  a  human  heart.' 
This  is  the  picture.  Cupid  has 
just  shot  his  arrow  and  is  flying 
away  to  a  new  victim.  To  inter- 
pret corde  as  a  locative  is  not  only 
artistically  unlikely,  but  robs  the 
whole  poem  of  its  point,  as  brought 
out  in  vv.  14-18.  Cf.  also  Mos- 
chus,  2,  16:  Koi  TTTtjOoeis  ws  opvt? 
€<f>LTrraTaL  aXXov  iv  aXAo),  dve/aa; 
T^Se  yvva'iKa<;. 

7.  alterna  .  .  .  unda :  up  and 
down,  like  the  crests  and  troughs 
of  alternate  waves.  The  change 
of  figure  would  seem  harsh  but 
for  aura.,  of  the  following  verse, 
which  is  naturally  suggested  by 
ventosas.  Love's  boat  rises  and 
sinks  before  a  fitful  breeze  like  a 
bird  on  the  wing  (C.  S.). 

8.  nostra:  'fair.' 


9.  merito  :  cf.  7ton  fnistra.,  v. 
5.  — •  hamatis  :  '  barbed.' 

10.  Gnosia :  because  the  Cre- 
tans were  renowned  archers  (C  S.). 
The  expression  comes  from  the 
important  town  on  the  north  coast 
now  famous  for  archaeological  dis- 
coveries. —  utroque :  the  god  is 
in  flight ;  and  his  quiver  is  nat- 
urally in  the  position  where  gener- 
ally carried  when  not  in  use.  Cf. 
Hom.  //.  I,  45  :  Tof  wfioccnv  t)(wv 
d/x(f)rjp€<fiia  re  cfjapeTprjV. 

1 1 .  tuti :  '  in  our  (false)  se- 
curity.' 

12.  sanus  abit:  'escapes  un- 
scathed.' 

13.  in  me:  'in  my  own  case.' 
—  manent,  manet :  the  poefs  pas- 
sion is  no  passing  whim. 

16.  meo  sanguine  :  'at  the  cost 
of  my  blood'  (C.  S.),  a  good  ex- 
ample of  the  characteristic  Proper- 
tian  vagueness  in  the  use  of  the 
abl.      Various   grammatical   cate- 


244 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


[I2,     24 


20 


quid  tibi  iucundum  est  siccis  habitare  medullis  ? 

si  pudor  est,  alio  traice  tela  tua. 
intactos  isto  satius  temptare  veneno  : 

non  ego,  sed  tenuis  vapulat  umbra  mea. 
quam  si  perdideris,  quis  erit  qui  talia  cantet 

(haec  mea  musa  levis  gloria  magna  tuast), 
qui  caput  et  digitos  et  lumina  nigra  puellae 

et  canat  ut  soleant  molliter  ire  pedes  ? 


18.  pudor  V2  puer  0.  alio  0  animo  PhilUmore.  tela  tua  (o  puella  tuo  0 
(quod  superest  alio  tramite  pelle  sitim  PhilUmore  in  Class.  Phil.  Vol.  4,  pp. 
3^5-3^7  ■')■ 


gories  may  be  suggested  for  the 
classification  of  this  case ;  e.g. 
price,  cause,  manner,  abl.  abs.  ; 
but  it  must  be  strongly  suspected 
that  this  is  one  of  those  instances 
where  the  poet  spoke  in  disdainful 
disregard  of  grammar.  Cf.  i,  17, 
21  ;   I,  19,  19,  nn. 


17.   siccis 


medullis  : 


bloodless  heart,'  its  vitality  having 
been  drained  in  so  many  struggles 
and  wounds.  Cf.  Theoc  2,  55  : 
aiat  Epws  dnujoe.  tl  fjLtv  fieXuv  e/c 
Xpoos  alfxa  ifj.(f)v<;  ws  Ai/xvart? 
airav  ck  /SSiAAa  TreVajKas  ;  cf.  also 
with  this  verse,  and  the  following. 
Ovid,  /^OT.  2,9,  13-16:  quidiui'at 
in  fiudis  ka/nata  retundere  tela 
ossibusf  OSS  a  mi/ii  nuda  relinquit 
amor,    tot  sine  ainore  viri,  tot  sunt 


sine  (uiiore  puellae :  /line  tibi  cutn 
mag}ia  laude  triumpluis  eat. 

18.  alio:  'elsewhere';  i.e.  to 
some  other  heart. 

20.  vapulat :  a  word  common 
in  comedy.  —  umbra  mea  :  '■  my 
ghost ' ;  this  playful  statement  is 
in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
word  vapulat.  That  the  hyper- 
bole is  not  intended  to  be  taken 
seriously  is  clear  from  quam  si 
perdideris  in  v.  21. 

21.  talia  :  such  songs  as  mine  ; 
i.e.  dwelling  on  such  themes,  the 
glory  of  his  playful  {levis)  muse, 
as  are  mentioned  below,  vv.  23-24 
(C.  S.).  These  features  of  Cyn- 
thia's beauty  are  dwelt  upon  in 
various  passages;  e.g.  i,  i.  i  ;  2, 
I,  9;  2.  2,  5  sqq. ;  2,  3,  9  sqq. 
Cf.  Cat.  68,  70-72. 


245 


13.  0 


PROPERTI 


13 


13 

Non  tot  Achaemeniis  armantur  Susa  sagittis, 

spicula  quot  nostro  pectore  fixit  Amor, 
hie  me  tam  graciles  vetuit  contemnere  musas, 

.    I.    Susa  «  etrusca  0  Itura  Fo n/an us  Ainsa.  Ellis  Erythra  Housman. 


2,    13 

Propertius  explains  that  it  is  his 
all-mastering  passion  for  Cynthia 
that  inspires  whatever  poetry  he 
may  yet  live  to  write,  and  foreseeing 
an  early  death,  expresses  his  wishes 
with  regard  to  his  ol)sequies,  add- 
ing the  hesitating  hope  that  she 
will  mourn  for  her  devoted  lover. 
It  seems  incomprehensible  that 
editors  have  so  often  insisted  on 
the  division  of  this  beautiful  elegy 
into  two  or  three  membra  disiecta, 
"XIII-(^"  and  "XIII-^"  being 
supposed  to  begin  respectively  at 
vv.  17  and  43. 

1-16:  'Cupid  has  wounded 
me  sorely  and  forced  me  to  write 
only  elegies  to  please  Cynthia. 
17-26:  So  when  death  shall 
come,  let  elegies  compose  my 
funeral  train  ;  27-30  ;  but  follow 
ihou  too,  my  love,  and  perform  the 
last  sad  offices  ;  31-38  :  let  all  due 
rites  be  observed,  including  an 
epitaph  that  shall  pay  tribute  to 
my  passion,  an  epitaph  destined 
to  be  read  as  often  as  that  of 
Achilles  ;  39-42  :  when  at  length 
thou,  too,  must  die,  may  thy  tomb 


be  near  mine  ;  but  meanwhile  neg- 
lect not  my  ashes ;  43-50 :  O 
that  I  had  not  lived  so  long,  to 
know  such  sadness!  51-56:  Yet 
thou  wilt  weep  for  me ;  even  gods 
weep  for  mortals;  57-58:  but  it 
will  be  too  late :  my  ashes  can 
write  no  more  elegies  then.' 

1.  Achaemeniis  :  'Persian,'  i.e. 
Parthian.  Achaemenes,  the  an- 
cestor of  the  Persian  kings,  was 
proverbial  for  wealth  and  power, 
so  that  his  descendants  were 
known  as  Achaemenidae.  Persian 
and  Parthian  were  essentially 
identical  to  the  poetic  imagination. 
The  well-known  Parthian  skill  in 
archery  made  a  most  effective 
illustration  at  this  time,  when  that 
people  was  occupying  so  promi- 
nent a  place  in  Roman  thought. — 
Susa  :  the  ancient  winter  capital 
of  the  Persian  kings. 

2.  Cf.  the  previous  elegy,  vv. 
13.  16,  17,  et  passim- 

3.  graciles  .  .  .  musas:  such 
simple  poetry  as  elegies  (C.  S.). 
The  contrast  with  epic  poetry,  to 
which  reference  follows  in  vv.  5-6, 
is  in  mind.  Cf.  Ovid,  Ex.  P.  2, 
5.  26  :  materiae  gracili  sufficit  in- 
ge  Ilium. 


246 


ELEGIARVM   IJBER    II 


[i3>   12 


ro 


iussit  et  Ascraeum  sic  habitare  nemus, 
non  ut  Pieriae  quercus  mea  verba  sequantur, 

aut  possim  Ismaria  ducere  valle  feras, 
sed  magis  ut  nostro  stupefiat  Cynthia  versu  : 

tunc  ego  sim  Inachio  notior  arte  Lino. 
non  ego  sum  formae  tantum  mirator  honestae, 

nee  siqua  inlustrcs  femina  iactat  avos  : 
me  iuvet  in  gremio  doctae  legisse  puellae, 

auribus  et  puris  scripta  probasse  mea. 


4.  Ascraeum  .  .  .  habitare 
nemus :  i.e.  to  practice  the  poet's 
art ;  cf.  2,  10,  25,  n. 

5.  Pieriae  :  the  Thracian  Pieria 
was  probably  originally  referred 
to,  as  that  belongs  to  the  same 
general  region  as  Ismaria  valle 
(v.  6).  Perhaps  Propertius  did 
not  know  the  difference  between 
this  district  and  the  more  famous 
Macedonian  district  of  the  same 
name  near  Mt.  Olympus,  which 
was  especially  associated  with  the 
Muses.  On  poetic  geography 
cf.  V.  I,  n  ;  Tib.  i,  3,  7,  n.  — se- 
quantur: the  legendary  effect  of 
the  playing  and  singing  of  Or- 
pheus. Cf.  ducere  .  .  .  feras 
(v.  6).  Propertius  is  not  seeking 
a  large  following,  only  Cynthia. 

6.  Ismaria :  cf.  Verg.  Ec.  6, 
30  :  nee  tantiiiii  Rhodope  miratur 
et  Ismariis  Orphea. 

7.  magis  =  potiiis,  as  several 
times  in  Propertius,  e.g.  2,  3,  53.  — 
stupefiat  :  'be  fascinated." 

8.  tunc:  'in  that  case.'  —  In- 
achio =  Argivo :  Inachus  was  the 
mythical  first  king  of  Argos,  really 


a  mere  personification  of  a  type.  — 
Lino  :  a  famous  legendary  singer  of 
Argos,  said  to  have  taught  Orpheus, 
and  to  have  perished  in  a  musical 
contest  with  Apollo  himself. 

9.  tantum  =  A7W  .•  instead  of 
the  expected  correlative  qtiantiivi 
at  the  beginning  of  V.  n,  the  poet 
permits  himself  an  emphatic  ana- 
coluthon.  —  mirator:  cf.  3,  1,33, 
n.  —  honestae:  'noble.' 

10.  femina :  the  incorporated 
antecedent  of  siqtia. 

11.  doctae:  cf.  i,  7,  11,  n. 
That  Cynthia  possessed  all  three 
of  the  attractions  enumerated  in 
vv.  9-1 1,  beauty,  rank,  and  educa- 
tion, we  are  abundantly  assured  in 
other  passages.  Cf.  3,  20.  7-8  : 
est  tihi  fortna  poteiis,  sunt  castae 
Palladis  artes,  spleiididaqiie  a 
dfltto  fain  a  refiilget  avo.  —  le- 
gisse :  cf.  probasse  (v.  12),  tenu- 
isse,  Tib.  i,  i,  29,  n.  The  object 
to  be  supplied  is  scripta  .  .  .  mea 
in  the  next  verse,  and  Propertius 
is  thinking  of  reading  aloud. 

12.  puris:  of  literary  taste  :  un- 
corrupted,    undefiled   by   any   uu- 


247 


13.  i3j 


PROPERTI 


15 


20 


haec  ubi  contigerint,  populi  confusa  valeto 

fabula:  nam  domina  iudice  tutus  ero. 
quae  si  forte  bonas  ad  pacem  verterit  aures, 

possum  inimicitias  tunc  ego  ferre  lovis. 
quandocumque  igitur  nostros  mors  claudet  ocellos, 

accipe  quae  serves  funeris  acta  mei. 
nee  mea  turn  longa  spatietur  imagine  pompa, 

nee  tuba  sit  fati  vana  querella  mei, 
nee  mihi  tum  fulcro  sternatur  lectus  eburno, 

nee  sit  in  Attalico  mors  mea  nixa  toro. 


worthy  models  of  style,  unlike  the 
ears  of  the  poptiliis  of  v.  13. 

14.  fabula:  'babble,''  i.e.  'talk 
of  the  town';  cf.  Hor.  Epod.  11, 
8  :  fabula  quanta  fail  The  per- 
sonality of  Propertius  and  the 
peculiarities  of  his  style  doubtless 
aroused  contemporary  criticism. 

15.  bonas:  'kindly  '  (C  S.)-  — 
ad  pacem:  '  with  favor ' ;  (C  S.)  ; 
purpose  ace.  ;  sc  vieatn. 

16.  tunc:  cf.  V.  8,  n. 

18.  accipe  :  the  change  from 
the  3d  to  the  2d  person,  henceforth 
maintained  throughout  the  elegy, 
is  an  instance  of  a  very  common 
phenomenon  in  Propertius.  Cf. 
e.g.  I,  3,  vv.  8  and  22  ;  Hertzberg, 
pp.  115,  116.  —  acta  :  like  the  Eng- 
lish "  programme."  A  somewhat 
peculiar  use  of  the  past  participle 
for  what  would  be,  more  accu- 
rately, agenda  (C  S.). 

19.  mea:  'forme.'  —  longa.  .  . 
imagine :  collective  use  for  longa 
serie  honiinuni  imagines  geren- 
tiuni.  —  spatietur:  men  wearing 
the  wax  masks  of  the  ancestors  in 


noble  families,  and  dressed  other- 
wise to  represent  them,  with  their 
insignia,  preceded  the  bier  of  a 
member  of  such  a  family.  Cf. 
B.  G.  Exc.  12,  p.  512. 

20.  tuba:  the  Twelve  Tables 
permitted  as  many  as  ten  tubicines 
at  funerals.  Cf.  Hor.  Sat.  i,  6,  42  : 
hie,  si  plostra  diicenta  concur- 
rantque  foro  tria  funera  magna, 
sonabit  cornua  quod  Tincatqiie 
tubas.  For  details  of  funeral  cus- 
toms see  Tib.  3,  2,  10.  n.  ;  Prop. 
I.  17,  21,  n. 

21.  fulcro  .  .  .  eburno  :  the  rich 
coverings  of  the  lectus  funebris 
hid  a  large  part  of  it  from  view, 
and  the  legs,  being  thus  the  most 
prominent  part  of  it,  were  some- 
times made  of  ivory. 

22.  Attalico :  not  merely  was 
the  name  of  the  Attalidae,  kings 
of  Pergamum,  proverbial  for  mag- 
nificence, but  in  particular  Attalus 
III  is  said  by  Pliny  the  elder  {N.  H. 
8,  74,  196)  to  have  invented  a  new 
luxury  in  fabrics,  by  interweaving 
threads   of  gold.     Cf.  2,  32,  12: 


248 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[13.  26 


25 


desit  odoriferis  ordo  mihi  lancibus,  adsint 

plebei  parvae  funeris  exequiae. 
sat  mea  sat  magna  est  si  tres  sint  pompa  libelli, 

quos  ego  Persephonae  maxima  dona  feram. 


25.    sat  magna  est  w  sit  magna  0  sic  magnast  Baehrens  sit  magno  Philli- 
more  sed  magna  est  Otto. 


portictis,  aulaeis  nobilis  Attalicis. 

—  mors  mea  =  ego  /noriuns,  i.e.  as 
cadaver.  Cf.  i,  19,  19,  n.  Cic 
Pro  Milone,  32,  86 :  mortem  eiiis 
lacerari. 

23.  odoriferis  .  .  .  lancibus: 
abl.  with  or  do.,  a  Propertian 
phrase.  Cf.  2,  32,  13:  platanis 
creber  pariter  sitrgejitibits  ordo. 
The  reference  is  probably  to  in- 
cense, which  was  burned  in  the 
atrium  beside  the  body  lying  in 
state,  and  during  the  procession. 
Strangely  enough,  only  here  in 
the  three  authors,  Catullus,  Tibul- 
lus,  and  Propertius  does  the  word 
odorifer  occur.  —  mihi,  midway 
between  desit  and  the  strongly 
contrasted  adsint,  belongs  to  both. 

24.  plebei  .  .  .  funeris :  the 
exequiae,  or  funeral  rites,  of  a  poor 
man  were  conducted  in  the  night, 
without  parade,  by  persons  hired 
for  the  purpose  (C  S.).  Cf.  Mar- 
quardt  u.  Mommsen,  Vol.  7,  p.  343. 

—  parvae.  .  .exequiae:  'humble 
ceremonies  ^ ;  exequiae  primarily 
refers  to  the  procession  {exsequor), 
and  that  this  is  especially  in  the 
poet's  mind  may  be  seen  from  the 
following  verses. 

25.  sat  mea  sat:  cf.  Tib.  i, 
I,   43,    n.  —  tres  .  .   .  libelli:  the 


perverted  wisdom  of  scholars  has 
based  partly  upon  these  words 
the  confusion  still  existing  in 
the  numbering  of  the  poems  in  the 
Propertius  collection.  For  the 
various  interpretations  that  may 
be  put  upon  this  expression  see 
Intr.  §  34.  It  is  sufficient  here 
to  remark  that  the  question 
whether  libellus  be  taken  in  the 
sense  of  a  poem  or  a  book  of 
poems  makes  no  difficulty.  The 
poet  is  not  looking  for  immediate 
dissolution,  and  if  at  this  time  he 
had  not  completed  three  books  of 
collected  poems,  he  might  thus 
express  his  hope  to  do  so.  The 
lover's  despondency  in  this  elegy 
must  be  compared  with  his  ela- 
tion in  the  next  one  to  show  that 
it  is  rather  moods  than  mathe- 
matics with  which  we  are  dealing 
here. 

26.  Persephonae  .  .  .  dona : 
Postgate  suggests  that  Propertius 
may  have  in  mind  Aeneas  and  the 
golden  branch,  Verg.  Aen.  6,  142. 
—  maxima  :  elegies  excel  all  other 
gifts  in  the  honor  they  carry,  as 
well  to  the  queen  of  the  under- 
world as  to  the  queen  of  the  poet's 
heart.  Literary  modesty  does  not 
characterize  Propertius. 


249 


13.  27] 


PROPERTI 


tu  vero  nudum  pectus  lacerata  sequeris, 
nee  fueris  nomen  lassa  vocare  meum, 
osculaque  in  gelidis  pones  suprema  labellis, 
30  cum  dabitur  Syrio  munere  plenus  onyx. 

deinde,  ubi  suppositus  cinerem  me  fecerit  ardor, 

accipiat  manes  parvula  testa  meos, 
et  sit  in  exiguo  laurus  super  addita  busto, 
quae  tegat  extincti  funeris  umbra  locum. 
35      et  duo  sint  versus,  '  qui  nunc  iacet  horrida  pulvis, 
unius  hie  quondam  servus  Amoris  erat.' 


27.  tu  vero :  instead  of  the 
stately  procession  referred  to  in 
vv.  ig  sqq.,  Propertius  expects 
Cynthia  ;  and  that  will  be  a  greater 
joy  to  him.  —  nudum  .  .  .  lacerata: 
one  of  the  many  forms  of  outward 
mourning;  cf.  Tib.  i,  i,  67-68,  n. 
TibuUus  thinks  less  of  self  and 
more  of  his  ladylove. 

28.  fueris :  fut.  perf.,  to  cor- 
respond with  sequeris,  expressing 
confident  expectation. — vocare: 
the  infinitive  with  lassjis'x?,  entirely 
Propertian.  See  Draeger,  434,  d. 
It  is  found  here  and  in  2,  15,  46; 
2,  33,  26.  The  gerund  would  be 
the  more  natural  construction 
(C.  S.).  For  the  practice  cf.  i, 
17,  23;  Tib.  I,  I,  61  sqq.;  3,  2, 
10-12,  nn. 

30.  Syrio  .  .  .  onyx:  cf.  Cat. 
66,  82,  n.  The  perfumes  used  for 
anointing  the  body  before  burning 
would  naturally  have  come  from 
Antioch,  in  Syria,  the  chief  eastern 
mart  for  this  trade. 

32.  manes  =  ciiieres :  the  iden- 
tification of  the  physical  and  the 


spiritual  is  common  in  Roman 
epitaphs,  e.g.  CIL.  6,  10969: 
sede  sub  Jiac  parva  titulo parvoqiie 
tetietiir  parva  anitna  ;  cf.  Tib.  3, 
2,  22,  n.  ;  Verg.  Aen.  4,  427  :  nee 
pat r is  Anchisae  cineres  nianesve 
revelli. 

33.  laurus :  not  the  funereal 
cypress  which  Horace  speaks  of. 
Car.  2,  14,  23  (prae/er  invisas 
cnpressos),  but  the  poet's  badge 
of  immortality  (C.  S.).  On  the 
"ecstatic  and  maddening  power" 
of  laurel,  cf.  Farnell,  Ctdis  of  the 
Greek  States,  Vol.  4,  p.  188,  a.  — 
busto:  'tomb.'' 

34.  extincti  funeris:  cf.  Serv. 
on  Aen.  2.  539 :  funeris  est 
iain  ardens  cadaver.  —  umbra  : 
epexegetical  with  quae,  which  is 
practically  rendered  equivalent  to 
citiiis. 

35.  duo  .  .  .  versus :  incom- 
plete, and  so  better  fitted  for  this 
passage  than  to  stand  alone  as  an 
epitaph . 

36.  unius  .  .  .  Amoris :  but  cf. 
I,  I,  n. 


250 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


[13.  46 


nec  minus  haec  nostri  notescet  fama  sepulcri, 

quam  fuerant  Phthii  busta  cruenta  viri. 
tu  quoqiie  si  quando  venies  ad  fata,  memento, 
40  hoc  iter  ad  lapides  cana  veni  memores. 

interea  cave  sis  nos  adspernata  sepultos : 
non  nihil  ad  veriim  conscia  terra  sapit. 
atque  utinam  primis  animam  me  ponere  cunis 
iussisset  quaevis  de  tribus  una  soror! 
45      nam  quo  tam  dubiae  servetur  spiritus  horae? 
Nestoris  est  visus  post  tria  saecla  cinis. 


37.  haec  .  .  .  fama :  i.e.  the 
fame  that  shall  rise  from  my 
unique  devotion  to  Cynthia. 

38.  fuerant:  sc.  nota  from 
notescet.  The  plup.  for  the  imp. 
is  a  favorite  use  of  Propertius. 
Cf.  I,  12,  II  ;  the  iiota  to  be  sup- 
plied does  not  check  Propertius 
from  indulging  his  mannerism. 
—  Phthii  .  .  .  viri:  Achilles. — 
cruenta :  referring  to  the  death  of 
Polyxena,  beloved  of  Achilles,  at 
his  tomb.  It  would  help  the  com- 
parison here  to  assume  that  the 
poet  is  thinking  of  the  version  of 
the  story  in  which  Polyxena  com- 
mitted suicide  at  the  grave  of  her 
lever ;  then  the  emphasis  will  fall 
on  the  fact  that  his  constancy  to 
Cyntliia,  though  expressed  only  in 
elegies,  will  make  him  as  famous 
as  Polyxena  became  by  giving  her 
life  in  a  more  spectacular  way  for 
her  lover. 

39.  si  quando :  the  poet  gal- 
lantly puts  off  the  evil  day  to  a 
remote  future. 

40.  hoc  iter  :  Propertius  hopes 
Cynthia's  tomb  will   be  near  his 

251 


own.  —  cana:  'in  hoary  age.' — ■ 
memores  :  '  that  ever  call  to  mind  ' ; 
probably  the  poet  is  thinking  both 
of  the  ordinary  function  of  a  tomb- 
stone and  of  the  undying  memory 
of  Cynthia  connected  with  his 
own. 

41.  sis  .  .  .  adspernata:  the 
present  tense  is  the  usual  construc- 
tion ;  but  for  the  poet's  fondness 
for  tenses  of  completed  action,  cf. 
V.  38,  n.  ;  I,  17,  I,  n.  —  sepultos: 
the  ashes  may  be  said  to  be 
'  buried  '  in  the  tomb. 

42.  '  Not  all  unconscious  is 
the  clay ;  it  has  some  notion 
of  the  truth.' — verum :  the  end 
toward  which  the  dull  earth  is 
groping. 

43.  atque:  adversative.  —  po- 
nere =  depouere. 

44.  tribus  :  sc.  Paras. 

45.  quo:  'to  what  end?'  — 
horae  :  '  duration  ; '     genitive. 

46.  Nestoris:  the  proverbial 
old  man  of  wisdom  and  experi- 
ence ;  yet  even  he  would  better 
have  died  earlier. — tria  saecla: 
cf.  Hom.  //.  I,  250  sqq 


13.  47 J 


PROPERTI 


quis  tam  longaevae  minuisset  fata  senectae 
Gallicus  Iliacis  miles  in  aggeribus ! 

non  iile  Antilochi  vidisset  corpus  humari, 
so  diceret  aut  '  o  mors,  cur  mihi  sera  venis  ? ' 

tu  tamen  amisso  non  numquam  flebis  amico  : 
fas  est  praeteritos  semper  amare  viros. 

testis,  cui  niveum  quondam  percussit  Adonem 
venantem  Idalio  vertice  durus  aper  : 


47.    quis  tam  longaevae  0  cui  si  tam  longae  I.jvineius  quoi  stamen  longae 
renuisset  Baehrens.       53.    cui  Huschke  qui  0. 


47.  quis  :  interrogative  used  in 
exclamation;  i.e.  'how  mary  a 
soldier  might  have  cut  shor'  his 
career ! ' 

48.  Gallicus  =  7>wrt;/7/.r ;  per- 
haps from  Callus,  a  river  of  Phrygia 
in  the  vicinity  of  Troy  (C.  S.)  ;  a 
contemptuous  term. 

49.  Antilochi:  son  of  Nestor, 
killed  in  the  Trojan  War.  Cf.  Juv. 
10,  250  sqq.  for  a  similar  reference 
(C.  S.)  ;  also  Hor.  Car.  2,  9,  13  : 
at  tion  ter  aevo  fimcttis  amabileiii 
ploravit  o»inis  Antilochiim  senex 
annos  ;  Hom.  Od.  3,  1 1 1  sqq. 

50.  diceret :  the  tense  repre- 
sents vividly  the  ever-sounding 
wail  of  Nestor.  — aut :  for  the  po- 
sition, cf.  3,  21,  27.  The  sequence 
non  .  .  .  aut  is  rare  and  poetic ; 
cf.  2,  I,  19  sqq.  for  the  reck- 
lessness of  Propertius  in  such 
matters. 

51.  tu  tamen:  after  the  anxi- 
ety expressed  in  vv.  41-42  has 
prompted  the  fit  of  despair  in 
which    the   poet    wishes    he    had 

2 


never  been  born,  he  reverts  again 
to  the  hope  of  vv.  27-30.  The 
transition  is  not  abrupt  from  Nestor 
bemoaning  his  son  to  Cynthia 
weeping  for  her  lover. 

52.  praeteritos  =  tnoriuos,  like 
the  idiomatic  use  of  oixo/JLevovi.  — 
viros :  in  the  sense  of  '  lovers,' 
common  in  the  elegiac  writers. 
Cf.  Pichon,  s.7f. 

53.  testis:  sc.  esi  ea,  i.e. 
Venus.  —  niveum  :  of  ideal  beauty. 
Cf.  I,  2,  19;  Bion,  Epit.  Adon.  7 
sqq.  :  Keirut  kuAos  "ASojvis  ev 
wpttTi  iXTjpov  666vTi,  XevKov  /Jirjpov 
686vTL  TVTret's.  —  Adonem  :  the  fa- 
miliar story  is  told  at  length  in 
Ovid,  MeLBk.  10. 

54.  Idalio  vertice :  Cyprus  in 
general,  and  the  town  of  Idalium 
in  particular,  were  favorite  abodes 
of  Venus ;  but  vertice  seems  a 
mere  poetic  vagueness,  especially 
when  taken  with  paludibus  in 
V.  55.  Some  other  writers  who 
venture  to  localize  the  tragedy 
place  it  in  Syria. 


52 


ELEGIARVM    LIRER    II 


[26,  2 


55      illis  formosum  iacuisse  paludibus,  illuc 
diceris  effusa  tu  Venus  isse  coma, 
sed  frustra  mutos  revocabis,  Cynthia,  manes: 
nam  mea  quid  poterunt  ossa  minuta  loqui? 


26 


Vidi  te  in  somnis  fracta,  mea  vita,  carina 
lonio  lassas  ducere  rore  manus, 

55.  foTmosnm  0  iovmosus  Pos/ga/e.    iacuisse  0  lavisse  tr  flevisse  w.     58.  quid 
FDV  qui  N. 


55 .  illis  =  i//ms  regionis :  cf. 
Hertzbeig,  Vol.  i.  p.  144.  —  for- 
mosum :  sc  die  nut  from  diceris 
(v.  56)  ;  a  Propertian  harshness. 

56.  effusa  .  .  .  coma :  cf.  Tib. 
3.  2,  II. 


2,  26 

The  poet  probably  tells  a  real 
dream,  and  takes  the  opportunity 
to  prove  his  devotion  to  Cynthia 
by  expressing  his  willingness  to 
share  the  danger  of  a  real  voyage 
and  lose  his  own  life,  if  need  be,  in 
saving  hers  (C.  S.).  There  seems 
to  be  no  valid  reason  for  beginning 
a  new  poem,  as  some  editors  do, 
at  V.  21.  Hertzberg  rightly  says 
that  it  would  be  absurd  to  have 
the  story  of  the  dream  lead  up  to 
nothing. 

i-io:  'I  dreamed  you  were 
shipwrecked,  darling,  and  nearly 
exhausted  with  swimming.  How 
1  prayed  for  your  rescue  !  1 1-20  : 
You  called  me  to  help  ;    had  the 


sea  divinities  spied  you,  you  would 
have  been  included  in  their  com- 
pany ;  but,  while  I  was  struggling 
to  plunge  to  your  relief,  a  dolphin 
rushed  to  your  aid.  21-28:  Now 
isn't  it  plain  why  my  mistress 
clings  to  me  ?  No  wealth  could 
draw  her  from  her  poet-lover ;  lav- 
ish gifts  do  not  imply  constancy 
in  love.  29-44  :  I  will  follow  my 
mistress  through  every  peril  of  the 
sea.  even  to  death  —  will  even  re- 
linquish my  own  happiness  in  a 
future  life  for  hers.  45-58 :  But 
neither  sea,  nor  sky,  gods  would 
harm  lovers,  witness  many  an 
example  !  Yet  if  I  can  but  die  for 
thee,  it  will  be  a  glorious  death.' 

I.  Vidi:  of  belief,  not  actual 
sight ;  hence  the  following  infini- 
tives, instead  of  participles.  —  mea 
vita:  cf.  2,  20,  11;  Cat.  104,  i; 
without  mea,  \,  2,  \,  et  passim; 
the  latter  form  is  the  more  common 
in  Propertius.  —  carina  :  a  favor- 
ite synecdoche  of  Propertius,  who 
employs  it  about  a  dozen  times. 


!53 


26,  3] 


PROPERTI 


lO 


et  quaecumque  in  me  fueras  mentita  fateri, 

nee  iam  umore  graves  tollere  posse  comas, 
qualem  purpureis  agitatam  iiuctibus  Hellen, 

aurea  quam  molli  tergore  vexit  ovis. 
quam  timui  ne  forte  tuum  mare  nomen  haberet 

atque  tua  labens  navita  fleret  aqua ! 
quae  turn  ego  Neptuno,  quae  tum  cum  Castore  fratri, 

quaeque  tibi  excepi,  iam  dea  Leucothoe ! 


2.  lonio :  perhaps  because  it 
was  by  this  route  that  Cynthia  had 
planned  to  leave  Propertius  (i,8). 
— ducere  :  the  motion  of  swimming  ; 
cf.  Ovid,  Met.  4,  353  :  alternaque 
bracchia  ducens  in  liquidis  trans- 
lucet  aquis. — rore  :  cf.  Lucr.  4.  438  ; 
quaecumque  supra  rorem  salis 
edita  pars  est  renwrum,  recta  est. 

3.  in  me  :  '  against  me/  —  fue- 
ras mentita:  cf.  2,  13.  38,  n. 

5.  qualem  .  .  .  agitatam  .  .  . 
Hellen :  after  the  analogy  of  the 
Greek,  the  participle,  which  refers 
both  to  te  (v.  i)  and  to  Hellen,  is 
used  here  only,  and,  like  qualem 
and  Hellen,  attracted  into  the  case 
of /^.  For  the  myth.  cf.  H.  &  T. 
§  163.  —  purpureis  =  the  Homeric 
epithet  7ropcf>vptos  {eg.  II.  16. 
391);  cf.  Verg.  Georg.  4,  373; 
Cic.  Ac.  Pr.  2.  105.  In  the  last 
passage  its  comparison  with  other 
phases  of  the  sea  expressed  by  the 
words  caeruleu>n,  ravum,  etc.,  in- 
dicates the  appearance  of  the 
water  when  dark  and  rough  from 
the  wind,  evidently  the  poet's 
thought  in  this  verse. 

6.  tergore  :  poetic  for  the  more 
usual  neuter  form  tergo. 


7.  quam  timui:  the  excla- 
mation contains  a  most  delicate 
compliment  as  well  as  a  strong 
expression  of  his  love.  Her  loss 
would  be  unbearable  even  though 
she  were  immortalized  by  a  mare 
Cynthiacu/n  {CS.).  —  tuum  .  .  . 
nomen  :  i.e.  as  the  Hellespont  bore 
that  of  Helle.  A  similar  deriva- 
tion of  •  Aegean  '  from  the  drown- 
ing of  Aegeus,  father  of  Theseus, 
was  current.  Cf.  also  mare  Ica- 
ri'u/n. 

8.  labens:  'gliding  along';  cf. 
1,20,  19:  lahente?n  .  .  .  Mysorutn 
scopulis  adplicuisse  ratem  ;  4,  6, 
48.  —  fleret :  at  the  memory  of  her 
fate. 

9.  quae:  sc.  vota. — cum  Cas- 
tore fratri  =  Castori  fratrique. 
Cf.  I.  17.  18.  n. 

10.  excepi :  for  the  more  usual 
suscepi.  —  iam  dea  :  Leucothoe 
had  been  changed  from  a  mortal 
to  a  goddess  under  similar  circum- 
stances, and  could  sympathize 
(C.  S.).  Cf.  2.  28.  19.  n.  —  Leuco- 
thoe :  the  variation  in  form  (cf. 
also  2.  28,  20)  from  the  etymologi- 
cally  correct  Leucothea  (AevKoOea 
=:' white  goddess'),  may  be  due 

54 


ELEGIARVM    LIHKR    II 


[26.  19 


at  tu  vix  primas  extollens  gurgite  palmas 

saepe  meum  nomen  iam  peritura  vocas. 
quod  si  forte  tuos  vidisset  Glaucus  ocellos, 

esses  lonii  facta  puella  maris 
15      et  tibi  ob  invidiam  Nereides  increpitarent, 

Candida  Nesaee,  caerula  Cymothoe, 
sed  tibi  subsidio  delphinum  currere  vidi, 

qui,  puto,  Arioniam  vexerat  ante  lyram. 
iamque  ego  conabar  summo  me  mittere  saxo, 


to  the  analogy  of  the  group  of 
names  represented  by  Cytnoihoe 
(v.  16);  cf.  H.  &  T.  §70. 

11.  primas  .  .  .  palmas :  'thy 
finger  tips ' ;  cf.  Cat.  2,  3  ;  prinuini 
digitiiDi  dare;  Cynthia  is  appar- 
ently doomed  to  drown. 

12.  saepe  :  '  again  and  again.' 
—  meum  nomen  .  .  .  vocas  :  less 
for  succor  than  in  remorse ;  cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  4,  382  sqq. :  spero  .  .  . 
siipplicia  hausitruin  scopulis  et 
nomhie  Dido  saepe  vocaturuju. 

13.  Glaucus:  'the  glittering' 
sea  god  ;  cf.  H.  &  T.  §  69.  —  ocel- 
los :  '  dear  eyes.' 

14.  puella:  '  mistress,'  the /«- 
ella  of  this  sea. 

15.  invidiam:  caused  particu- 
larly by  the  beauty  of  Cynthia, 
which  would  rival  even  that  of  im- 
mortals. 

16.  The  two  Nereids  mentioned 
are  typical  beauties  whose  partic- 
ular charms  to  the  eye  are  indicated 
by  the  epithets  Candida  and  cae- 
rula, referring  to  familiar  phases 
of  marine  loveliness. 

17.  Greek  and  Roman  litera- 
ture are  full  of  myths  and  tales  of 

25 


the  friendliness  of  the  dolphin  to 
gods  and  men.  Cf.  P.  W.,  s.v. 
Indeed,  the  dolphin  was  said  to 
be  a  metamorphosed  man.  It  was  a 
devotee  of  Aphrodite,  and  as  such 
was  said  to  have  brought  her  first 
to  land  after  her  birth  from  the 
sea  foam.  Its  association  with 
Eros  was  familiar  in  legend  and  in 
art  (cf.  the  Augustus  of  Prima- 
porta).  It  is  therefore  most  ap- 
propriate that  a  dolphin  should 
rescue  Cynthia  in  her  lover's 
dream,  as  told  in  an  ideal  erotic 
elegy,  by  one  inspired  by  Apollo, 
to  whom  likewise  the  dolphin  was 
sacred. 

18.  puto:  not  to  be  taken  too 
seriously,  but  more  like  the  Yan- 
kee '  guess.'  —  Arioniam  .  .  . 
lyram  =  Arionefn  lyranique  eius. 
For  the  familiar  myth  see  Class. 
Diet. 

19.  iamque  .  .  .  conabar:  i.e. 
*  for  some  time  I  had  been  trying,' 
as  is  usual  in  a  nightmare.  — me 
mittere  saxo :  Propertius  may  be 
thinking  of  the  tale  told  by  Plu- 
tarch {Mor.  984,  E.)  of  the  lover 
Enalos,  who  actually  threw  himself 

5 


26,    20j 


PROPERTI 


20 


25 


cum  mihi  discussit  talia  visa  metus. 
nunc  admirentur  quod  tam  mihi  pulchra  puella 

serviat  et  tota  dicar  in  urbe  potens. 
non,  si  Cambysae  redeant  et  flumina  Croesi, 

dicat  'de  nostro  surge,  poeta,  toro.' 
nam  mea  cum  recitat,  dicit  se  odisse  beatos : 

carmina  tam  sancte  nulla  puella  colit. 
multum  in  amore  fides,  multum  constantia  prodest 

qui  dare  multa  potest,  multa  et  amare  potest, 
seu  mare  per  longum  mea  cogitet  ire  puella, 


into  the  sea  to  save  his  sweet- 
heart, and  was  himself  rescued  by 
a  dolphin. 

20.  discussit :  a  strong  word, 
as  if  the  mirror  were  shattered  in 
which  the  vision  was  seen  (C.  S.). 
The  growing  intensity  of  the 
experience  finally  wakens  the 
dreamer  with  a  start 

21.  nunc:  emphatic;  i.e.  now 
that  I  have  related  such  a  dream 
as  that.  Two  elements  must  be 
noted  in  the  transition  to  the 
second  part  of  the  poem  :  i .  The 
fideHty  of  the  lover  in  his  dream. 
2.  His  poetic  skill  in  describing 
it.  'Can  anybody  wonder  any 
longer,'  he  cries,  '  that  a  lover  who 
loves  thus  unto  death  and  can  tell 
his  love  with  such  inspiration 
should  be  preferred  to  all  others  ? ' 
Upon  these  two  thoughts  are  built 
the  remainder  of  the  argument.  — 
admirentur  :  the  subject  is  indefi- 
nite, referring  to  his  rivals  and 
detractors. 

23.    Cambysae    .    .    .    flumina : 


plurals  expressing  a  type ;  kings 
as  wealthy  as  Cambyses,  and  riv- 
ers of  gold  like  the  Pactolus,  which 
made  Croesus  a  proverb  of  wealth. 
—  redeant  :  those  kings  of  fabu- 
lous wealth  were  gone  long  before 
this. 

24.  poeta  :  who  had  just  pre- 
sented her  with  so  elegant  a  sam- 
ple of  his  art  and  proof  of  his 
devotion,  and  is  therefore  pre- 
ferred to  the  most  boundless 
wealth. 

25.  beatOs  :  •  rich  lovers.' 

28.  qui  :  e.g.  the  praetor  of  2, 
16.  —  multa  et  amare:  concen- 
tration of  affection  on  the  one 
object  cannot  be  expected  under 
these  circumstances  ;  and  the 
multa  doubtless  includes  the  idea 
of  mjiltas. 

29.  seu :  something  of  err.pha- 
sis  is  added  to  the  correlative  from 
the  omission  of  the  first  seu: 
'even  if  (C.  S.).  —  mare  per 
longum :  '  a  long  voyage  over  the 
sea'  (C.  S.). 


256 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[26,  39 


30  banc  sequar,  et  fidos  una  aget  aura  duos, 

unum  litus  erit  sopitis  unaque  tecto 

arbor,  et  ex  una  saepe  bibemus  aqua, 
et  tabula  una  duos  poterit  conponere  amantes, 

prora  cubile  mihi  seu  mihi  puppis  erit. 
35      omnia  perpetiar  :  saevus  licet  urgeat  eurus, 

velaque  in  incertum  frigidus  auster  agat, 
quicumque  et  venti  miserum  vexastis  Ulixen 

et  Danaum  Euboico  litore  mille  rates, 
et  qui  movistis  duo  litora,  cum  rudis  Argus 

26.    39.   rudis  F2  ratis  0.   Argus  w  Argo  0. 


30.  hanc :  emphatic  pronoun, 
excluding  all  other  loves.  —  se- 
quar :  probably,  like  aget,  future ; 
more  positive  than  the  pres.  subj. 
would  have  been. 

33.  conponere:  'nestle'  (Phil- 
limore) . 

36.  frigidus  auster:  auster  is 
normally  a  hot  wind ;  but  the 
poets  enjoy  much  freedom  of  im- 
agination in  applying  epithets  to 
winds,  which  are  indeed  variable 
in  temperature  as  well  as  in  direc- 
tion. Cf.  2,  9,  34 :  nee  folia  Iii- 
derno  tarn  treniefacta  noto ;  4.  3. 
48  ;  Verg.  Georg.  4,  261  :  frigidus 
ut  quondam  si/vis  imtnurmurat 
Auster ;  J.  E.  Church  in  Univ.  of 
Nev.  Studies  2,  4,  pp.  92-98. 

38.  Euboico  litore:  i.e.  on  the 
promontory  of  Caphareus,  where 
the  Grecian  fleet  was  shipwrecked 
on  the  return  from  Troy.  Cf.  3, 
7,  39;  4,  I,  114;  Verg.  Aen.  11, 
260 :  Euboicae  cautes  ultorque 
Caphareus.  —  mille :  not  literally 
a  thousand  ;  cf  H.  163,  2  ;  though 


Homer  says  there  were  1186  Gre- 
cian ships  in  the  expedition  against 
Troy,  Dares,  the  impostor,  says 
1 140;  Dio,  1200;  the  Scholiast  of 
Euripides,  11 70  (C.  S.).  What- 
ever the  original  number,  it  was 
doubtless  reduced  on  the  return. 
Cf.  Class.  Jour.,  Vol.  4  (1909), 
p.  165. 

39.  duo  litora :  the  Symple- 
gades,  the  two  notorious  rocky 
islands  near  the  entrance  to  the 
Bosporus,  which  were  reputed  to 
float  hither  and  thither  and  to  crush 
unlucky  vessels  between  them. 
Cf.  Apollon.  Rhod.  2,  317  sqq. 
For  an  explanation  of  the  phe- 
nomenon see  Smith,  Diet.  Geog., 
article  "Bosporus."  —  cum  rudis 
Argus:  cf.  3,  22,  13:  qua  rudis 
Argoa  natat  ititer  saxa  colutnba ; 
Luc.  3,  193:  inde  lacessitum  prima 
mare,  cum  rttdis  Argo.  By  be- 
ing first  sent  through  the  peril- 
ous passage  the  dove  became 
the  pathfinder  of  the  ship.  Cf. 
the  dove  sent  by  Noah. 


ROM     KL.   POETS  —  I  7  2  5/ 


26,  4°] 


PROPERTI 


40  dux  erat  ignoto  missa  columba  mari. 

ilia  meis  tantum  non  umquam  desit  ocellis, 

incendat  navem  luppiter  ipse  licet, 
certe  isdem  nudi  pariter  iactabimur  oris : 
me  licet  unda  ferat,  te  modo  terra  tegat. 
45      sed  non  Neptunus  tanto  crudelis  amori, 
Neptunus  fratri  par  in  amore  lovi. 
testis  Amymone,  latices  cum  ferret,  in  Argis 
conpressa,  et  Lernae  pulsa  tridente  palus. 
iam  deus  amplexu  votum  persolvit :  at  illi 
50  aurea  divinas  urna  profudit  aquas. 

crudelem  et  Boream  rapta  Orithyia  negavit : 

hie  deus  et  terras  et  maria  alta  domat. 
crede  mihi,  nobis  mitescet  Scylla  nee  umquam 

47.    Argis  <o  arvis  0. 


41.  ilia:  the  only  "she"  for 
Propertius. 

42.  Cf.  Horn.  Od.  12,  415. 

43.  nudi :  '  stripped  '  of  our 
all. 

44.  The  poet  is  willing  to  risk 
wandering  unburied  this  side  of 
paradise,  if  Cynthia's  body  can 
only  be  saved  and  duly  buried. 

45  sqq.  "  All  the  world  loves 
a  lover."     Cf.  3,  16,  11  sqq. 

46.  lovi :  Jove  was  the  divine 
Xovtx par  excellence;  yet  Neptune 
here  is  his  equal,  says  Propertius. 

47.  Amymone,  sent  by  her 
father  Danaus  to  find  water  in 
time  of  drought,  was  ravished  by 
Neptune,  who  with  his  trident 
produced  the  spring  of  Lerna,  or 
Amymone  Lernae  pains,  as  her 
reward    for  yielding    to    his    em- 

2 


brace.  —  ferret  may  have  conative 
force. 

49.  iam  .  .  .  amplexu :  '  even 
while  in  her  embrace.'  —  votum: 
a  preliminary  promise  to  fulfill 
her  chief  desire  is  assumed  for 
Neptune.  What  ardent  lover  ever 
failed  to  give  it  ?  What  god 
would  break  it?  —  illi:  Amy- 
mone ;  corresponding  to  dens ; 
she  returned  full-handed  to  her 
father. 

51.  Orithyia:  daughter  of 
Erechtheus ;  as  she  strayed  from 
home  in  play,  she  was  carried 
away  by  Boreas  and  became  the 
mother  of  a  famous  progeny. 

52.  Boreas  represented  wild 
stormy  weather,  to  the  people  of 
southern  climes  especially. 

53.  nee  umquam  =  el  nutnquam. 


58 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[27.  4 


alternante  vacans  vasta  Charybdis  aqua, 
55      ipsaque  sidera  erunt  nuUis  obscura  tenebris, 
purus  et  Orion,  purus  et  haedus  erit. 
quod  mihi  si  ponenda  tuo  sit  corpore  vita, 
exitus  hie  nobis  non  inhonestus  erit. 


27 

At  vos  incertam,  mortales,  funeris  horam 
quaeritis,  et  qua  sit  mors  aditura  via, 

quaeritis  et  caelo  Phoenicum  inventa  serene, 
quae  sit  stella  hoinini  commoda  quaeque  mala, 

57.    quod  FLV2  quid  NDV. 
27.    I.    At  0  et  CO. 


54.  alternante  .  .  .  aqua :  '  the 
water's  ebb  and  flow.'' 

56.  Orion  .  .  .  haedus :  both 
constellations  rise  at  a  stormy  time 
of  year,  and  were  commonly  re- 
garded as  the  cause  of  had 
weather.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  4,  52 : 
dut/!  pelago  desaevit  hiems  et 
aquosus  Orion ;  9,  668  :  vejiiens 
pliiiiialibus  Haedis  verberat  imber 
hutnujii.  Haedi  is  a  double  star 
in  Auriga,  and  the  name  is  usually 
in  the  plural. 

57.  tuo  .  .  .  corpore:  '  for  thy 
body';  i.e.  if  my  life  must  be  lost 
in  saving  thine  (C.  S.). 

58.  erit :  another  example  of 
the  change  from  possibility  in 
protasis  to  probability  in  apodosis. 

2,  27 

i-io:  'O  fellow  men,  ye  anx- 
iously seek  to  know  the  time  and 


the  manner  of  your  death  ;  11-16: 
but  only  the  lover  knows  his  fate  ; 
if  his  mistress  call,  he  would  even 
return  to  her  from  the  jaws  of 
hell.' 

Rothstein  on  insufficient 
grounds  joins  this  to  the  preced- 
ing elegy. 

I.  funeris  =  wwr//> ;  cf.  i,  17, 
8,  n. 

3.  Phoenicum :  the  Roman's 
indistinct  knowledge  of  eastern 
affairs  appears  here  again :  the 
Chaldaeans  were  the  inventors  of 
astrology,  probably;  the  Phoeni- 
cians were  good  astronomers  cer- 
tainly, so  far  as  the  art  of  navigation 
was  concerned,  and  doubtless 
practiced  astrology  like  other 
eastern  nations.  —  inventa  :  to  be 
taken  in  apposition  with  v.  4.  Cf. 
Job  38,  33  :  "■  Knowest  thou  the 
ordinances  of  heaven?" 


259 


37.5] 


PROPERTI 


lO 


sen  pedibus  Parthos  sequitur  seu  classe  Britannos, 

et  maris  et  terrae  caeca  pericla  viae, 
rursus  et  obiectum  fletis  capiti  esse  tumultum, 

cum  Mavors  dubias  miscet  utrimque  manus, 
praeterea  domibus  flammam  domibusque  ruinas, 

neu  subeant  labris  pocula  nigra  tuis. 
solus  amans  novit  quando  periturus  et  a  qua 

morte,  neque  hie  boreae  flabra  neque  arma  timet, 
iam  licet  et  Stygia  sedeat  sub  arundine  remex, 


5.  sequitur  «  sequimur  0.  7.  fletis  w  fletus  N  flemus  FLDV  fles  tu  Nous- 
man,  capiti  LDVF2  caput  NF.  tumultum  0  tumultu  w.  10.  labris  .  .  .  tuis 
0  suis    Broukktisius   vestris  .  .   .  labris  Foster. 


5.  Parthos  .  .  .  Britannos :  the 
two  widely  remote  objects  of  the 
ambition  of  Augustus,  constantly 
reappearing  in  the  literature  of  the 
period.  —  sequitur  :  the  subject  is 
supplied  from  ho/niiii. 

6.  Epexegetical  of  v.  5  ;  vtaris 
et  terrae  modify  Ttae. 

7.  fletis :  here  followed  by 
three  different  constructions : 
ace.  and  inf.  (v.  7),  ace.  alone 
(v.  9),  and  subj.  with  tie  (v.  10). 
In  the  last  two  instances  the  idea 
of  fear  is  the  prominent  one  in 
fietis. 

8.  Mavors :  this  longer  and 
perhaps  more  impressive,  because 
more  sonorous,  form  occurs  only 
here  in  Propertius,  though  he 
uses  the  shorter  usual  form  six 
times. 

9.  Cf.  Juv.  3.  190-202. 

10.  nigra:  'deadly';  cf.  Verg. 
Aen .  4,  514:  tiigri  cum  lade 
veneni.  —  tuis  :    for  a  similar  ex- 


ample of  the  individualizing  singu- 
lar instead  of  the  expected  general 
plural  cf.  2,  25,  41-47:  vidistis 
.  .  .  tuis  .  .  .  ocellis. 

11.  periturus:  sc.  sit:  cf.  i, 
8,  37. — a  qua:  cf.  for  the  use 
of  the  preposition,  3.  2,  25 ;  4, 
3,  39;  Tib.  2,  1,56;  Uhlmann, 
p.  40. 

12.  morte:  i.e.  the  disfavor  of 
his  darling. 

13.  sub:  cf.  3,  9,  36.  —  arun- 
dine :  characteristic  of  the  banks 
of  sluggish  streams  like  those  in 
the  infernal  world ;  cf.  Verg. 
Georg.  4,  478  :  qiios  circitm  limns 
niger  et  deformis  arundo  Cocyti 
tardaque  pains  inamahilis  unda 
alligat,  et  noviens  Styx  ititerfuso 
coercet.  —  remex  :  Aristophanes 
{Frogs,  197  sqq.)  represents  the 
dead  as  paddling  their  own  canoe  ; 
and  Vergil  {Aen.  6,  320:  illae 
remis  vada  livida  verrunt)  proba- 
bly implies  the  same. 


260 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


[28,  2 


cernat  et  infernae  tristia  vela  ratis  : 
15      si  modo  clamantis  revocaverit  aura  puellae, 
concessum  nulla  lege  redibit  iter. 


28 


luppiter,  adfectae  tandem  miserere  puellae: 
tam  formosa  tuum  mortua  crimen  erit. 

15.   clamantis  0  damnatis  W>  damnatum  w. 


14.  tristia  vela  ratis  :  the  phan- 
tom ferryboat  of  Charon  appears 
to  be  equipped  not  merely  with 
oars  but  also  with  sails  to  catch 
any  shadow  of  a  breeze  that  may 
stir  in  that  calm  locality  ! 

15.  clamantis:  it  might  be  at 
the  concla)natio  just  after  death,  at 
the  funeral  pyre,  or  perhaps  at  the 
tomb.  —  aura  :  the  faintest  whisper 
only  might  reach  the  Styx,  indeed 
only  the  breath  of  the  voice  might 
fan  tlie  ghostly  cheeks  of  the 
lover. 

16.  Cf.  4,  II,  4. 

2,  28 

Cynthia  is  dangerously  ill. 
Propertius  utters  fervent,  and  ul- 
timately effectual,  prayers  for  her 
recovery.  The  arguments  ad- 
vanced by  diiferent  editors  for 
dividing  this  elegy  variously  into 
two  or  three  separate  poems  seem 
insufficient.  The  natural  vacilla- 
tions of  anxiety,  despair,  hope,  and 
ultimate  confidence  pass  swiftly 
before    the    sympathies     of     the 


reader.       For    various     parallels, 
cf.  Ovid,  Am.  2,  13. 

1-4:  'Juppiter,  show  pity  in 
my  darling's  hour  of  need;  5-14: 
true,  she  may  have  brought  her 
affliction  upon  herself  by  offend- 
ing some  divinity,  perhaps  through 
perjury  or  overweening  pride. 
15-24:  Yet,  like  other  famous 
beauties  who  had  offended  some 
divinity,  you  too,  Cynthia,  may 
ultimately  triumph  over  your  difiS- 
culties  ;  25-30 :  but  if  you  must 
die,  glory  and  fame  will  be  yours  in 
death;  31-34:  humble  yourself, 
however,  before  the  gods ;  and 
hesitate  not,  Jove,  to  grant  our 
petition.  35-46:  All  the  omens 
and  incantations  fail  to  give  us 
any  encouragement ;  my  life  is 
bound  up  in  hers ;  pity  us  both, 
and  both  of  us  will  pay  thee  our 
vows ;  47-58  :  Persephone  and 
Pluto,  confirm  my  hope  ;  already 
fair  ones  enough  are  in  your 
realms,  and  sooner  or  later  must 
we  all  come  to  you.  59-62  :  And, 
light  of  my  life,  forget  not  to  pay 


261 


28,  3] 


PROPERTI 


lo 


IS 


venit  enim  tempus  quo  torridus  aestuat  aer, 

incipit  et  sicco  fervere  terra  cane, 
sed  non  tarn  ardoris  culpa  est  neque  crimina  caeli 

quam  totiens  sanctos  non  habuisse  deos. 
hoc  perdit  miseras,  hoc  perdidit  ante,  puellas : 

quidquid  iurarunt,  ventus  et  unda  rapit. 
num  sibi  collatam  doluit  Venus  ?  ilia  peraeque 

prae  se  formosis  invidiosa  deast. 
an  contempta  tibi  lunonis  templa  Pelasgae, 

Palladis  aut  oculos  ansa  negare  bonos  ? 
semper,  formosae,  non  nostis  parcere  verbis : 

hoc  tibi  lingua  nocens,  hoc  tibi  forma  dedit. 
sed  tibi  vexatae  per  multa  pericula  vitae 


28.   9.   num  DFL  nun  V  non  N. 


your  vows.'  (Cf.  2,  9.  25  :  haec 
niihi  vota  tteam  propter  siiscepta 
salutem,  etc.,  for  an  interesting 
"parallel  column.") 

2.  formosa  .  .  .  mortua  =for- 
mosatn  mortuatn  esse;  see  Hertz- 
berg  I,  p.  155  ;  cf.  Ovid's  imitation 
(^A)n.  2,  II,  35)  :  vest r not  crimen 
erit  talis  iactura  pnellae. 

3.  Summer  and  early  fall  were 
the  dangerous  months  at  Rome, 
although  the  ancients  knew  but 
vaguely  the  causes  of  the  diseases 
here  attributed  to  torridns  aer. 

4.  Cf.  Tib.  I.  7,  21.  —fervere: 
the  same  quantity  occurs.  2,  8,  32, 
the  only  oth^  place  in  Propertius 
where  this  verb  is  used. 

8.  Cf.  Cat.  70,  3-4;  Tib.  4,  4, 
8;  Ovid,  A?n.  2,  16,  45. 

9.  num:  the  poet  hesitates  to 
suggest  the  thought  that  Cynthia 


had  ventured  such  a  comparison. 

—  peraeque :    to    be    taken     with 
invidiosa. 

II.  This  is  no  occasion  for 
offending  any  divinity;  and  Pro- 
pertius hastens  to  add  the  names  of 
the  other  two  fair  goddesses  whom 
Paris  had  slighted  in  his  famous 
decision.  —  Pelasgae  :  as  a  favorer 
of  Greeks,  here  in  contrast  es- 
pecially to  the  Trojans. 

U2.  oculos  :  the  special  physical 
feature  of  Athena,  referred  to  in 
the  stock  epithet  yXavKWTrt?.  Yet 
this  feature  seems  to  have  been 
the  object  of  ridicule  on  the  part 
of  her  rival  goddesses  and  criti- 
cism by  others;  cf.  Hygin.  165; 
luno  et  Venus  cum  eam  irriderent, 
quod  et  caesia  erat  et  buccas  in- 
flarct  .  .  .  7'idit  se  merito  irrisam. 

—  ausa  :  sc.  es. 


262 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


[28,  25 


20 


25 


extremo  veniet  mollior  hora  die. 
lo  versa  caput  primes  mugiverat  annos  : 

nunc  dea,  quae  Nili  flumina  vacca  bibit. 
Ino  etiam  prima  terris  aetate  vagata'st : 

banc  miser  inplorat  navita  Leucothoen. 
Andromede  monstris  fuerat  devota  marinis : 

haec  eadem  Persei  nobilis  uxor  erat. 
Callisto  Arcadios  erraverat  ursa  per  agros  : 

haec  nocturna  suo  sidere  vela  regit, 
quod  si  forte  tibi  properarint  fata  quietem, 


16.    veniet  V2  veniat  w  venit  0. 


16.  extremo:  'ultimately';  cf. 
2,  10,  7,  n. 

17.  lo  versa:  on  account  of  the 
jealousy  of  Hera.  —  caput:  Pro- 
pertius  is  following  two  types  of 
her  representation  in  the  same 
sentence;  she  was  frequently 
represented  as  a  beautiful  wo- 
man with  only  the  horns  of  a 
heifer  to  call  attention  to  the 
myth ;  but  both  Greek  and  Egyp- 
tian art  also  represented  her  as  a 
heifer  throughout.  A  type  repre- 
senting her  as  a  cow-headed  maiden 
was,  perhaps,  invented  to  identify 
lo  with  Isis.  Cf.  Harv.  SiHd.,Yo\. 
12,  pp.  335  sqq. 

18.  dea :  Isis,  with  whom  lo 
was  ultimately  identified.  — bibit: 
perfect  tense. 

19.  Ino  :  daughter  of  Cadmus. 
When  pursued  by  her  insane  hus- 
band Athamas,  she  leaped  into 
the  sea,  and  becoming  a  marine 
divinity  was  known  as  Leuco- 
thea   (Leucothoe  in  v.  20  and  in 


2,  26,  10,  q.v.). — terris:  as  con- 
trasted with  her  later  home  in  the 
sea. 

21.  Andromede:  daughter  of 
Cassiope  (or  lope)  and  Cepheus. 
Her  mother's  proud  boast  of  being 
more  beautiful  than  the  sea  nymphs 
brought  upon  the  unhappy  girl  the 
fate  of  being  exposed  on  the  shore 
to  a  sea  monster.  Cf.  v.  51,  n. — 
monstris :  poetic  plural. 

22.  Persei :  Perseus  rescued 
the  maiden  and  became  her  hus- 
band. Ultimately  she  found  a 
place  among  the  stars. 

23.  Callisto :  daughter  of  Ly- 
caon,  the  Arcadian  king ;  an  at- 
tendant of  Artemis ;  beloved  of 
Zeus ;  changed  by  Artemis  or 
Hera  in  anger  into  a  bear;  trans- 
lated by  Zeus  to  the  skies  as  Ursa 
Maior ;  mother  of  Areas  and  the 
Arcadian  race. 

25.  properarint :  '  prove  to  have 
decreed  a  premature  (death).'  — 
quietem:    cf.  Verg.  Aen.  10,  745: 


263 


28,    26] 


PROPERTI 


ilia  sepulturae  fata  beata  tuae. 
narrabis  Semelae,  quo  sit  formosa  periclo  : 

credet  et  ilia,  suo  docta  puella  malo  : 
et  tibi  Maeonias  inter  heroidas  omnis 
30  primus  erit  nulla  non  tribuente  locus. 

nunc,  utcumque  potes,  fato  gere  saucia  morem 

et  deus  et  durus  vertitur  ipse  dies, 
hoc  tibi  vel  poterit,  coniunx,  ignoscere  luno : 

frangitur  et  luno,  siqua  puella  perit. 
35      deficiunt  magico  torti  sub  carmine  rhombi, 

et  iacet  extincto  laurus  adusta  foco, 
et  iam  Luna  negat  totiens  descendere  caelo, 

nigraque  funestum  concinit  omen  avis. 


olli  dura  qiites  oculos  et  ferreus 
urget  somnus,  in  aetertiam  clau- 
dunttir  lumina  nodem. 

26.  ilia  .  .  .  fata :  in  apposi- 
tion with  fata  (v.  25).  —  beata: 
anticipating  the  description  in  the 
following  verses. 

27.  formosa:  substantive  :  '  the 
perils  of  a  beauty.'  —  periclo  :  abl. 
of  quality. 

28.  suo  .  .  .  malo :  Semele,  be- 
loved of  Zeus,  was  nevertheless 
destroyed  by  his  lightning,  when 
she  craved  his  companionship  as 
the  sky  god. 

29.  Maeonias  =  H  o  m  e  r  i  c,  as 
Maeonia  was  an  old  name  for 
Lydia,  the  birthplace  of  Homer.  — 
inter:  for  the  poetic  lengthening 
of  the  final  syllable  as  the  ictus 
syllable  where  the  following  word 
begins  with  h,  cf.  2,  8,  8 :  vin- 
ceres  aut  vincis,  haec  in  atnore 
rotast. 


31.  nunc:  imagination  gives 
place  to  fact ;  dreams  to  the  needs 
of  the  present  moment. 

33.  tibi :  Juppiter,  addressed  in 
coniunx.  —  ignoscere  :    cf.  Tib.  4, 

2,  3- 

34.  Cf.  Tib.  4,  4,  15. 

35.  rhombi :  a  magic  wheel,  ap- 
parently used  in  different  ways  for 
purposes  of  divination.  Cf.  3,  6, 
26  :  statninca  rhombi  ducitur  tile 
rota  ;  Tib.  i,  3,  1 1,  n. 

36.  adusta :  '  but  singed,'  in- 
stead of  entirely  consumed  :  a  bad 
sign, 
sharp 


Cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  81,  n.     The 
crackle     of    the 


burning 
laurel  was  considered  a  good  omen. 

37.  descendere:  cf.  i,  i,  19,  n. 

38.  nigra:  'ill-omened.'  — 
avis  :  the  owl.  Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  3, 
12,  2 :  omina  non  albae  conci- 
nuistis  aves ;  Verg.  Aen.  4.462: 
solaque  cubninibus  ferali  carmine 
bubo;  Hor.  Sat.  i,  9,  73. 


264 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


[28,  50 


una  ratis  fati  nostros  portabit  amores 
40  caerula  ad  infernos  velificata  lacus. 

si  non  unius,  quaeso,  miserere  duorum. 
vivam,  si  vivet :  si  cadet  ilia,  cadam. 
pro  quibus  optatis  sacro  me  carmine  damno : 
scribam  ego  '  per  magnum  salva  puella  lovem,* 
45      ante  tuosque  pedes  ilia  ipsa  operata  sedebit, 
narrabitque  sedens  longa  pericla  sua. 
haec  tua,  Persephone,  maneat  dementia,  nee  tu, 

Persephones  coniunx,  saevior  esse  velis. 
sunt  apud  infernos  tot  milia  fbrmosarum  : 
50  pulchra  sit  in  superis,  si  licet,  una  locis. 

41.    si  FLDV  set  N. 


39.  ratis  fati :  Charon's  skiff.  — 
nostros  .  .  .  amores  =  Jios  aman- 
tes;  cf.  4,  4,  37,  n. 

40.  caerula:  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  6, 
410  :  caeruleatn  advert  it  puppiin  ; 
but  in  V.  303  the  cymba  is  '•' fcrj-ti- 
ginea.''^ 

41.  Cf.  Tib.  4,  4,  19;  Ovid, 
Ajh.  2,  13,  15:  in  una  parce 
duobiis. 

43.  carmine:  cf.  2,  13,  35,  n. 

44.  This  may  be  the  abstract 
of  a  prepared  poem  or  hymn  ;    cf. 

Tib.  1,3,  31- 

45.  tuosque:  here  it  is  Jup- 
piter,  in  v.  60  it  is  Diana,  and  in 
V.  61  it  is  Isis,  to  whom  special 
thanksgiving  is  paid,  although  it  is 
Persephone  by  whose  favor  the 
sick  one  is  represented  (vv.  47, 
sqq.)  as  being  relieved  from  her 
dangerous  position.  The  poet 
does  not  find  it  necessary  to  give 
us  all  the  intermediate  steps  of  his 
thought.  —  operata:  cf.  Tib.  2,  i, 


9,   n.  —  sedebit:    for   the   custom 
cf.  Tib.  I,  3,  30. 

47.  After  the  encouraging  vision 
of  vv.  45-46  the  poet  turns  hope- 
fully to  Jove's  brother,  Pluto,  to 
whom  all  must  ultimately  come 
(v.  58),  and  to  his  fair  bride  Per- 
sephone, to  whom  the  youth  and 
beauty  of  Cynthia  should  especially 
appeal,  and  realizing  that  the  very 
lingering  of  the  sick  one  on  this 
side  the  grave  implies  dementia 
on  their  part,  urges  that  this  mercy 
be  continued  for  the  present,  since 
they  do  not  need  another  beauty 
in  the  lower  world.  There  is  no 
confidence  expressed  till  v.  59.  — 
tu:  Pluto. 

49.  For  infer  ni  =  inferi  in 
Prop.  cf.  BPIV.,  Vol.  28  (1908), 
Sp.  541.  —  f ormosariim  :    cf.  Intr. 

§42,1(3). 

50.  superis  .  .  .  locis :  i.e.  on 
earth,  as  contrasted  with  inferis 
locis,  the  underworld. 


265 


28,  51] 


PROPERTI 


vobiscum  est  lope,  vobiscum  Candida  Tyro, 

vobiscuin  Europe,  nee  proba  Pasiphae, 
et  quot  Troia  tulit  vetus  et  quot  Achaia  formas, 
et  Phoebi  et  Priami  diruta  regna  senis : 
55      et  qiiaecumque  erat  in  numero  Romana  puella, 
occidit:  has  omnis  ignis  avarus  habet. 
nee  forma  aeternum  aut  cuiquam  est  fortuna  per- 
ennis : 
longius  aut  propius  mors  sua  quemque  manet. 
tu  quoniam  es,  mea  lux,  magno  dimissa  periclo, 
6o  munera  Dianae  debita  redde  choros, 

54.    Phoebi  0  Thebae  Scaliger. 


51.  lope:  sometimes  identified 
with  Cassiepeia  (Cassiope).  daugh- 
ter of  Aeolus.  It  was  from  her 
that  the  city  of  Jopi>a  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  named.  A  fa- 
mous mythological  beauty,  whom 
(as  Cassiepeia)  tradition  placed 
ultimately  among  the  stars,  as  it 
did  her  daughter  Andromeda.  Cf. 
V.  21.  n.  —  Tyro:  wife  of  Cre- 
theus  ;  in  love  with  the  Thessalian 
river  god  Enipeus,  and  beloved  by 
Poseidon.  Odysseus  held  con- 
verse with  her  in  the  lower  world  ; 
cf.  Hom.  Od.  II,  235  sqq. 

52.  Europe  :  daughter  of  Phoe- 
nician Agenor;  Zeus  in  the  form 
of  a  white  bull  carried  her  off  to 
Crete  to  woo  her. — nee  proba  = 
et  inproba. — Pasiphae:  wife  of 
Minos,  and  mother  of  the  Minotaur. 

54.  Phoebi :  Phoebus  and  Posei- 
don helped  Laomedon  build  the 
walls  of  Troy.  Hesione,  daughter 
of  Laomedon.  was  given  by  Hera- 
cles to  Telamon  as   the   prize  for 


help  in  the  sack  of  this  city. — 
Priami :  the  later  city  of  Priam 
was  taken  by  the  Greeks  in  the 
famous  ten  years'  war.  and  the  fair 
Helen  was  then  the  chief  prize.  — 
regna :  in  apposition  only  with 
Troia,  if  the  text  is  correct ;  for  the 
awkward  arrangement  cf.  Cat.  68, 
68-69. 

55.  in  numero:  'worth  men- 
tioning' {i.e.  in  this  list). 

56.  ignis :  i.e.  of  the  funeral 
pyre. 

58.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  3,  25  : 
omnes  eodem  cogimur,  omniutn 
vcrsatiir  urn  a  serins  ocius. 

59.  If  this  elegy  was  written 
after  Cynthia's  recovery,  this  verse 
represents  the  actual  condition  of 
things  at  the  time  of  composition  ; 
if  it  was  penned  during  the  progress 
of  the  disease,  it  expresses  a  more 
or  less  well-grounded  faith  tliat  his 
prayers  are  heard.     But  cf.  v.  47.  n. 

60.  munera  .  .  .  debita  :  thank- 
offerings  to  the  deity:  for  proces- 


266 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   II 


L31,  2 


redde  etiam  excubias  divae  nunc,  ante  iuvencae, 
votivas  noctes  et  mihi  solve  decern. 


31 

Quaeris,  cur  veniam  tibi  tardior.     aurea  Phoebi 
porticus  a  magno  Caesare  aperta  fuit. 


sions  as  thank-offerings  cf.  Arr. 
Anab.  2,  24,  6.  —  chores  :  perhaps 
Propertius  refers  to  the  torchlight 
processions  at  the  temple  of  Diana 
Nemorensis,  near  Aricia,  in  which 
a  woman  whose  prayer  had  been 
granted  would  be  especially  likely 
to  join;  see  Preller'',  Vol.  r,  p. 
317  ;  cf.  Ovid,  Fast.  3,  269  :  saepe 
potens  voti,  frontein  7-edi»iita 
coronis,  femina  lucent es  portat  ab 
urbe  faces .  That  Cynthia  was  ac- 
customed to  take  part  in  these  rites 
is  seen  from  2,  32,  9 :  acceitsis  de- 
votam  currere  taedis  in  neiniis  et 
Triviae  Ininina  ferre  deae.  More- 
over the  chief  annual  occasion  of 
this  practice  was  on  the  Ides  of 
August ;  cf.  vv.  3-4.  But  Wchoros 
means  merely  '  dances.''    cf.   Tib. 

I.  3'3i- 

61.  excubias :  cf.  2,  33,  1-2 ; 
Tib.  I,  3.  25.  n.  — divae  ...  iu- 
vencae:  cf.  vv.  17.  18.  nn. 

62.  decern :  the  same  number 
as  ritual  prescribed  for  the  god- 
dess. Cf.  Cumont,  Oriental  Relig. 
in  Rom.  Paganism,  p.  go. 

2,  31 
Propertius   apologizes    for    his 
tardiness  in  meeting  an  engage- 


ment (presumably  with  Cynthia) 
with  the  excuse  that  the  fascina- 
tion of  the  newly  opened  temple 
of  Apollo  on  the  Palatine,  includ- 
ing the  sacred  inclosure  and  its 
?,\xxxo\xx\^\xigporticns,  had  detained 
him.  Beginning  with  the  porticus 
and  its  decorations  he  describes 
what  he  had  seen  in  proceeding 
even  to  the  image  of  the  god 
in  the  cella  of  the  temple  itself. 
The  brevity  of  this  description 
may  be  explained  by  the  facts 
that  in  excusing  tardiness  pro- 
lixity is  out  of  place,  and  that 
up  to  this  period  in  the  poet's 
compositions  this  was  an  unusual 
type  of  subject,  which  he  might 
attack  with  some  hesitation.  The 
impression  made  upon  him  by  the 
whole  architectural  and  decorative 
scheme  is  clearly  that  produced 
by  a  novelty,  and  we  mu.st  date 
the  poem  on  the  day  of  opening 
the  temple,  Oct.  9,  28  B.C. 

The  work  of  building  had  com- 
menced soon  after  the  return  of 
Augustus  from  the  defeat  of  Sextus 
Pompey  in  36  B.C.  But  the  temple 
was  known  as  that  of  Apollo  Actius 
through  whose  favor  Octavian  in 
31  B.C.  had  won  his  final  victory 


267 


31.  3] 


PROPERTI 


tota  erat  in  speciem  Poenis  digesta  columnis, 
inter  quas  Danai  femina  turba  senis. 

hie  equidem  Phoebo  visus  mihi  pulchrior  ipso 
marmoreus  tacita  carmen  hiare  lyra, 

atque  aram  circum  steterant  armenta  Myronis, 

31.    3.    tota  w  tanta  0. 


over  all  rivals.  It  was  the  most 
magnificent  thing  of  its  kind  that 
Rome  had  ever  seen,  situated  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  Pala- 
tine hill,  adjacent  to  the  Domus 
Augustana.  The  Sibylline  books 
were  transferred  hither  at  an  un- 
certain date.  Cf.  Tib.  2,  ^,  i.  n.  ; 
Jordan,  Top.  i.  3,  pp.  66  sqq.  ; 
Plainer,  Top.  p.  142. 

1.  tibi:  "ethical"  dative. — 
aurea :  because  made  of  the 
golden  yellow  Numidian  marble 
now  C2\\t6.  giallo  antico  (cf.  v.  3). 

2.  aperta  fait :  this  form  com- 
bines the  thoughts  of  aperta  erat 
(plup.)  and  aperta  erat  (adj.  and 
imp.).  '  The  opening  had  just  oc- 
curred, and  there  it  stood  open  to 
invite  me  in  as  I  passed.'  Cf.  G. 
250,  R.  I.  Note  the  following 
series  of  descriptive  secondary 
tenses. 

3.  in  speciem :  purpose  ace.  ; 
i.e.  to  make  an  especially  fine  ap- 
pearance. Cf.  PAPA.,  Vol.  28 
(1897),  p.  xxiv. 

4.  femina :  used  here  as  an 
adj. — turba:  the  fifty  Danaides, 
whose  statues  stood  in  the  inter- 
columnar  spaces.  Cf.  Ovid,  A.  A. 
1 ,  73  :  q  Hague  par  are  iieceui  mi- 
ser is  patriielibus  ansae  B elides  et 


stricto  stat  ferns  ense  pater. 
Acron,  quoted  by  the  Scholiast  at 
Persius  i,  56,  states  that  (bronze) 
equestrian  statues  of  their  ill-fated 
husbands  stood  in  front  of  them 
in  the  open  space  of  the  .sacred 
inclosure. 

5.  hie:  adv.  Propertius  un- 
consciously assumes  that  the 
reader  has  followed  him  through 
the  colonnade  and  out  into  the 
area  where  stood  this  famous 
statue  of  Apollo  near  the  altar  in 
front  of  the  temple. — equidem: 
emphasizes  »ii/ii.  — pulchrior  ipso: 
cf.  the  slang  phrase,  "as  big  as 
life  and  twice  as  natural." 

6.  marmoreus  :  sc.  Phoebus.  — 
tacita  .  .  .  lyra :  with  concessive 
force.  —  hiare  :  active ;  '  to  be 
opening  his  lips  in  song.'  The 
type  of  this  Apollo  has  not  been 
certainly  identified. 

7.  steterant :  had  taken  their 
stand,  and  so  'were  standing.'  — 
armenta  Myronis :  Myron,  a 
sculptor  contemporary  with  Poly- 
clitus  and  Phidias,  worked  mostly 
in  bronze,  and  achieved  special 
distinction  for  his  realistic  repre- 
sentations of  animals  as  well  as  hu- 
man figures.  Cf.  Gardner,  Hand- 
book of  Greek  Sculpture,  p.  287. 


268 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   II 


[31.  16 


10 


15 


quattuor  artifices,  vivida  signa,  boves. 
turn  medium  claro  surgebat  marmore  templum, 

et  patria  Phoebo  carius  Ortygia. 
in  quo  Solis  erat  supra  fastigia  currus, 

et  valvae,  Libyci  nobile  dentis  opus, 
altera  deiectos  Parnasi  vertice  Gallos, 

altera  maerebat  funera  Tantalidos. 
deinde  inter  matrem  deus  ipse  interque  sororem 

Pythius  in  longa  carmina  veste  sonat. 


8.  vivida  signa :  probably 
bronze.     Cf.  3,  9,  9. 

9.  claro  .  .  .  marmore :  white 
Luna  (Carrara)  marble  was  the 
material ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  8,  720  : 
niveo  candentis  limine  Phoebi. 

10.  Ortygia  :  the  one  identified 
with  Delos,  the  birthplace  of 
Phoebus. 

11.  Solis  .  .  .  currus:  as  an 
acroterium  ornament  at  the  apex 
of  the  pediment.  How  many 
others  were  on  this  roof  is  un- 
known; PHny  {N.H.  36,  5.  13) 
states  that  there  were  at  any  rate 
statues  of  Bupalus  and  Athenis. 
This  kind  of  architectural  adorn- 
ment grew  in  popularity.  In  a 
corresponding  position  on  the 
temple  of  the  Capitoline  Juppiter, 
which  Octavian  restored  in  this 
same  year,  stood  a  statue  of  Jove 
in  a  quadriga.  On  the  next  Cap- 
itoline-Juppiter  temple,  built  after 
the  fire  of  69  a. D.,  stood  not  only 
a  similar  .statue,  but  also  two  other 
chariots,  two  eagles,  and  statues 
of  the  Capitoline  trinity  of  gods, 
Juppiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva;  cf 
Plainer,  p.  283. 


12.  dentis  :  '  ivory.' 

13.  altera  :  in  partitive  apposi- 
tion with  valvae:  sc.  maerebat 
from  v.  14.  The  Gauls  under 
Brennus  attacked  Delphi  in  279 
B.C.,  but  were  routed  through  the 
interposition  of  Apollo  himself. 
Cf.  3,  13.  51  :  torrida  sacrilegum 
tcstantitr  li//iina  Bretinum,  dum 
petit  hitonsi  Fythia  regna  del; 
Pans,  r,  4,  4. 

14.  maerebat :  '  pictured  the 
pitiful  story  of.'  —  funera  Tantali- 
dos: the  death  of  the  children  of 
Niobe,  whom  Apollo  and  his  sister 
Artemis  punished  for  her  presump- 
tuous pride  in  them. 

15.  deinde :  i.e.  leaving  the 
outside  of  the  temple,  and  entering 
the  ivory-carven  doors,  we  are 
face  to  face  with  the  object  of  su- 
preme interest,  the  famous  statue 
of  Apollo  Citharoedus  by  Scopas. 
—  matrem :  the  statue  of  Leto 
was  by  the  younger  Cephisodotus  ; 
cf.  Piiny,  V.  H.  36,  5,  24.  — 
sororem:  the  Artemis  was  a  work 
of  Timotheus ;    cf.   Pliny,  N.  H. 

36,  5.  32- 

16.  Cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  I,  n. 


269 


»J 


PROPERTI 


LIBER   TERTIVS 


Callimachi  manes  et  Coi  sacra  Philetae, 

in  vestrum,  quaeso,  me  sinite  ire  nemus. 
primus  ego  ingredior  puro  de  fonte  sacerdos 

1.    I.    Philetae  N  Philitae  FLDV. 


3,  I  (and  2) 

At  the  beginning  of  Book  3 
the  poet  magnifies  his  ofiice,  and 
defines  its  scope.  In  the  Mss. 
a  new  poem  begins  with  v.  39; 
but  it  is  probably  best  to  regard 
the  two  elegies  as  originally  a 
unit,  since  neither  seems  quite 
complete  without  the  other. 

1-6:  'Callimachus  and  Phi- 
letas,  let  me  be  your  representa- 
tive successor  as  the  Roman 
elegist,  and  reveal  to  me  the 
sources  of  your  inspiration  ;  7-20  : 
already  in  my  chosen  field  I 
am  leaving  far  behind  those  who 
essay  epic  strains ;  so.  Muses, 
wreath  me  with  your  own  garlands  ; 
21-38:  what  care  I  for  the  en- 
vious detractor  of  to-day  ?  I  fore- 
see that  after  death  I  shall  be  to 
elegy  as  Homer  is  to  the  epic 
art ;  i-io  :  so  let  me  return  to  my 
own  sphere,  that  many  a  fair  lady 
may  dote  upon  my  verses — what 
wonder  if  they  do,  when  we  re- 
member Orpheus,  Amphion,  and 
Galatea!  11-16:  For  I  must  win 
my  friends  not  by  wealth,  but  by 


the  aid  of  the  Muses  ;  17-26  :  and 
so,  fortunate  indeed  is  she  who 
gains  a  name  through  my  pen  ! 
The  splendors  of  the  external  world 
will  perish  by  fire  and  flood,  but 
the  glory  of  genius  dieth  not.'' 

I.  Callimachi:  the  two  great 
Alexandrian  elegists  are  named  in 
the  order  of  their  importance  ;  cf. 
Intr.  §§  7-9.  —  manes  .  .  .  sacra: 
both  words  are  to  be  taken  with 
both  genitives.  '  Propertius  asks 
to  enter  the  sacred  grove  {netfuis, 
V.  2)  where  as  the  accepted  priest 
he  can  perform  the  sacred  rites  in 
honor  of  the  souls  of  his  great 
models. 

3.  primus ;  the  claim  is  that  he 
is  the  first  to  measure  up  to  the 
standards  of  the  Alexandrian 
tradition ;  Propertius  has  not  al- 
ready forgotten  the  list  of  his 
predecessors  in  Roman  elegy  with 
which  the  previous  poem  in  the 
collection  closes ;  hut  his  temper 
here  is  essentially  that  of  4,  I,  64. 
In  this  sort  of  self-conceit  Pro- 
pertius is  perhaps  primus  ititer 
pares  among  the  Romans ;  but 
cf.  Hor.  Car.  3,  30,   13:  princeps 


270 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   III 


['.  15 


10 


IS 


Itala  per  Graios  orgia  ferre  chores, 
dicite,  quo  paritcr  carmen  tenuastis  in  antro  ? 

quove  pede  ingressi  ?  quamvc  bibistis  aquam  ? 
ah  valeat,  Phoebum  quicumque  moratur  in  armis ! 

exactus  tenui  pumice  versus  eat. 
quo  me  Fama  levat  terra  sublimis,  et  a  me 

nata  coronatis  musa  triumphat  equis, 
et  mecum  in  curru  parvi  vectantur  A  mores, 

scriptorumque  meas  turba  secuta  rotas. 
quid  frustra  missis  in  me  certatis  habenis .'' 

non  datur  ad  musas  currere  lata  via. 
multi,  Roma,  tuas  laudes  annalibus  addent, 


Aeolhim  carmen  ad  Italos  dedu- 
.\isse  ifiodos ;  Foster  in  Matzke 
Memorial  Vol.  pp.  104  sqq.  — 
puro  —  integro. 

4.  The  figure  of  carrying  Ital- 
ian mysteries  tlirough  the  mazes 
of  Greek  dances  means  the  treat- 
ing of  the  secrets  of  love  among 
the  Italians  in  the  Greek  style. 
Cf.  Cat.  64,  259 :  obsciira  cavis 
celebrabant  orgia  cistis ;  Sen. 
Here.  Aet.  594  :  nos  Cadmeis  orgia 
ferre  tecum  solitae  coiidita  cistis  ; 
Enk,  ad  loc. 

5.  pariter  :  of  the  two  elegists 
in  V.  I .  —  carmen  tenuastis  :  '  spin 
your  fine  thread  of  song.' 

6.  pede  :  if  this  refers  to  meter 
at  all,  it  is  to  refinement  in  treat- 
ment. The  poet's  questions  have 
an  eye  to  his  initiation  into  the 
deeper  mysteries  of  the  elegiac 
art  as  practiced  by  Callimachus 
and  Philetas. 

7.  valeat :  Propertius  will  soon 


leave  such  a  poet  far  behind.  — 
moratur  :  '  tries  to  hold  the  atten- 
tion of;  cf.  Hor.  A.  P.  321  :  7>al- 
dius  oblectat  populum  meliusque 
moratur. 

8.  Polish,  rather  than  a  great 
theme,  is  his  boast. 

9.  quo  :  i.e.  such  a  versus. 

10.  coronatis  .  .  .  equis :  cf. 
Ovid,  Trist.  4,  2,  22  :  aide  coro- 
nal os  ire  videbit  equos. 

11.  Amores :     as    children    ot 
triumphing  generals,  who   some- 
times   took    their    children    with 
them,  e.g.  Germanicus ;    cf.   Tac 
Ann.    2,  41,  4:   currusque  quift- 
que  liberis  omisttis. 

14.  currere  :  purpose  inf  =  ad 
currendum.  —  lata  via  :  where  it 
is  easy  for  a  number  to  vie  in 
reaching  a  goal.  The  particular 
Via  Lata  at  Rome  was  identical 
with  the  modern  Corso,  whose 
name  is   significant  in  this    con- 


nection. 


271 


I,   i6] 


PROPERTI 


20 


25 


qui  finem  imperii  Bactra  futura  canent : 
sed,  quod  pace  legas,  opus  hoc  de  monte  sororum 

detulit  intacta  pagina  nostra  via. 
mollia,  Pegasides,  date  vestro  serta  poetae  : 

non  faciet  capiti  dura  corona  meo. 
at  mihi  quod  vivo  detraxerit  invida  turba, 

post  obitum  duplici  fenore  reddet  Honos. 
omnia  post  obitum  iingit  maiora  vetustas : 

mains  ab  exequiis  nomen  in  ora  venit. 
nam  quis  equo  pulsas  abiegno  nosceret  arces. 

fluminaque  Haemonio  cominus  isse  viro, 


23.   omnia  FLDV  Famae  N.   vetustas  FLDV  vetustae  N  {cf.  Enk  ad  loc.) 


16.  Bactra  :  on  the  outskirts  of 
Roman  geographical  knowledge 
beyond  Parthia.  Cf.  2,  10,  13- 
16,  nn. 

17.  sororum  =  Musarwn. 

18.  Propertius  affects  for  the 
moment  an  air  of  superiority  as 
compared  to  the  epic  poets ;  but 
the  real  reason  why  he  writes 
elegy  appears  shortly  in  v.  20 ; 
and  we  have  only  to  compare 
2,10;  3,3;  and  3,  9  to  realize  that 
he  would  gladly  have  sung  epic 
strains,  had  he  not  known  himself 
unfit  for  the  task. 

19.  mollia:  cf.  4,  i,  61-62. — 
Pegasides :  this  name  for  the 
Muses  is  derived  from  the  horse 
whose  hoof  stamped  out  their 
fountain  Hippocrene.     Cf.  3.  3,  2. 

20.  non  faciet  corresponds 
here  exactly  to  the  English  idiom, 
*  will  not  do.'  For  a  similar  sense 
with   the  ace.  cf.  Ovid,  Her.   15, 


190  :  ad  talent  for  mam  non  facit 
iste  locus. 

21.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  20,  4  sqq. : 
invidiaqjie  maior  iirbes  relinquam 
.  .  .  non  ego  .  .  .  obibo  nee  Stygia 
cohibebor  inula  .  .  .  me  Colchus 
et,  qui  dissi>nulat  metum  Marsae 
cohortls,  DacHS  et  idtimi  fioscent 
Geloni ;  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  39-40. 

24.  ab:  'from the  time  of.'  Cf. 
Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  121  :  vivo  sub- 
lime dedisti  nomen,  ab  exequiis 
quod  dare  faiua  solet. 

25.  pulsas:  the  walls  of  Troy 
were  literally  battered  down  to  let 
in  the  wooden  horse ;  but  the 
broader,  figurative  sense  is  prob- 
ably intended  here. 

26.  Haemonio..  .viro:  Achilles 
was  the  most  famous  Thessalian, 
for  which  Haemonian  is  a  synony- 
mous term.  For  the  dat.  with 
isse,  cf.  4,  I,  148;  Uhlmann,  p, 
38. 


272 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    III 


[i.  34 


Idaeum  Simoenta  lovis  cum  prole  Scamandro, 

Hectora  per  carnpos  ter  maculasse  rotas? 
Deiphobumque  Helenumque  et  Polydamanta  et  in 
arm  is 
30  qualemcumque  Parin  vix  sua  nosset  humus, 

exiguo  sermone  fores  nunc,  Ilion  et  tu 

Troia  bis  Oetaei  numine  capta  dei. 
nee  non  ille  tui  casus  memorator  Homerus 
posteritate  suum  crescere  sensit  opus. 


27.  cum  prole  Scamandro  G.  Wolff  a  lacuna  in  N  lovis  cunabula  parvi 
FLDV  Idaeos  monies  lovis  incunabula  Palmer.  29.  Polydamanta  Lachmann 
Polydamantis  Phillimore  Polilidamantas  changed  to  —  es  N  {unchanged  in 
NFL). 


27.  Cf.  Horn.  //.  21,  2;  223, 
and  the  context.  The  attempts 
to  justify  the  Mss.  reading  here 
can  hardly  be  convincing,  as  the 
sense  is  thus  widely  interrupted ; 
and  the  silence  of  N  is  significant ; 
cf.  Butler  and  Enk,  ad  loc. 

28.  Cf.  Verg.  A  en.  i,  483  :  ter 
circiim  Iliacos  7-aptaverat  Hectora 
imtros. 

29.  Polydamanta:  this  group- 
ing of  Polydamas,  son  of  Panthous, 
with  three  famous  sons  of  Priam 
is  justified  by  his  close  association 
with  leading  Trojans  in  Homer 
and  in  Latin  poetry;  cf.  i,  14,  19, 
n. ;  Ovid,  Met.  12,  547. 

30.  qualemcumque:  'sorry  war- 
rior as  he  was.'  —  vix  .  .  .  humus: 
cf.  Ovid,  Trist.  5.  5,  54 :  for  sit  an 
Evadnen  vix  sua  nosset  hiimiis. 

31.  Ilion:  Vergil  similarly  uses 
this  name  several  times  in  juxta- 
position with  Troia,  e.g.  Aen.  2, 
625  :   Ilitim  et  ex  imo  verti  Nep- 

ROM.  EL.  POETS —  1 8  2 


tutiia  Troia.  What  distinction, 
if  any,  was  intended  by  the  poets, 
is  uncertain. 

32.  bis  . .  .  capta :  Heracles  took 
Troy  in  person  in  revenge  for  the 
perjury  of  Laomedon ;  and  the 
Greeks  took  it  in  the  famous  ten 
years'  war,  but  only,  according  to 
prophecy,  by  using  the  arrows  of 
Heracles  (which  Philoctetes  had 
inherited)  with  which  to  kill  Paris, 
whose  death  indirectly  caused  the 
fall  of  tlie  city.  —  Oetaei  .  .  .  dei; 
Heracles,  who  ascended  from  Mt. 
Oeta  to  his  place  among  the 
gods. 

33.  memorator:  Propertius  is 
fond  of  rare  verbal  nouns  in  -tor ; 
cf.  2,  13,  9. 

34.  posteritate :  one  of  the 
poet's  vague  ablatives,  apparently 
expressing  means ;  cf.  vetiistas 
(v.  23). — sensit:  perf.  def.,  im- 
plying the  conscious  existence  of 
the  soul  of  Homer  after  death. 


73 


I.  35] 


PROPERTI 


35      meque  inter  seros  laudabit  Roma  nepotes : 
ilium  post  cineres  auguror  ipse  diem. 
ne  mea  contempto  lapis  indicet  ossa  sepulcro 
provisum  est  Lycio  vota  probante  deo. 


Carminis  interea  nostri  redeamus  in  orbem  : 

gaudeat  in  solito  tacta  puella  sono. 
Orphea  detinuisse  feras  et  concita  dicunt      w^ 

flumina  Threicia  sustinuisse  lyra  : 
saxa  Cithaeronis  Thiebas  agitata  per  artem 

sponte  sua  in  muri  membra  coisse  ferunt : 
quin  etiam,  Polypheme,  fera  Galatea  sub  Aetna 

ad  tua  rorantes  carmina  fiexit  equos: 


<! 


35.  meque  =  »/e  qiioque ;  cf. 
Cat.  102,  3. 

37.  Cf.  2,  13,  37. 

38.  Lycio  .  .  .  deo :  famous  ora- 
cles were  given  by  Apollo  at  his 
temple  at  Patara  in  Lycia.  The 
poet  speaks  as  if  this  were  one  of 
them. 


1.  Cf.  3.3,  21. 

2.  gaudeat  in  :  Propertius  often 
uses  a  superfluous  /;/  with  abla- 
tives that  are  really  causal ;  cf.  4, 
8,  63  :  CyntJiia  gaiidet  in  exiiviis; 
I,  18,  8;  3,  9,  II.  — puella:  col- 
lective; cf.  V.  10  infra. 

3.  Propertius  enforces  his 
argument  by  citing  three  famous 
instances  of  the  marvelous  power 
of  a  singer  to  draw  after  him  inan- 
imate nature,  beasts,  and  even  a 


divine  being  like  Galatea,  and  that 
too  in  spite  of  her  great  reluctance. 

5.  artem:  that  of  Amphion. 

6.  membra :  purpose  ace. 

7.  quin  etiam  :  introducing  the 
most    remarkable  instance. 

8.  ad  tua  .  .  .  carmina  flexit : 
Propertius  delights  in  the  obscure 
version  of  a  myth  ;  cf.  4,  4,  Intr. 
According  to  the  well-known  idyls 
of  Theocritus  (6  and  11)  and  the 
metamorphoses  of  Ovid  (13,  735 
sqq.)  Polyphemus  was  unsuccess- 
ful in  his  suit ;  but  that  there  was 
a  version  according  to  which  his 
eiforts  were  not  in  vain  is  evident 
from  the  Greek  mythographer 
Nonnus,  of  the  fifth  century  A.D. 
{Dion.  6,  300-324)  ;  cf.  App.  ///. 
I,  2,  where  Keltos,  Illyrios,  and 
Galas  are  referred  to  as  sons  of 
Polyphemus  and  Galatea.  —  roran- 


274 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[2,  17 


miremur,  nobis  et  Baccho  et  Apolline  dextro 
10  turba  puellarum  si  mea  verba  colit  ? 

quod  non  Taenariis  domus  est  mihi  fulta  columnis, 

nee  camera  auratas  inter  eburna  trabes, 
nee  mea  Phaeacas  aequant  pomaria  silvas, 
non  operosa  rigat  Marcius  antra  liquor : 
35      at  Musae  comites,  et  carmina  grata  legenti, 
et  defessa  choris  Calliopea  meis. 
fortunata,  meo  siqua  est  celebrata  libello ! 

2.    17.    est  0  es  0). 


tes:  dripping  with  brine  as  they 
showed  themselves  aijove  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea. 

9.  Baccho :  Bacchus  has  al- 
ready appeared  as  a  patron  of 
poets  in  Tib.  3,  4,  43  :  casti'  iiaui 
rite  poetae  Fhoebttsqiie  et  Bncchtis 
Pieridesque  faveitt  \  cf.  also  Pro]3. 
2,  30,  38 :  Jtiediiis  dflcta  ciispide 
Bacchus ;  E.  Maass  in  Hermes, 
Vol.  31  (1896).  pp.  375  sqq. ;  Far- 
nell,  Greek  Cults,  Vol.  5,  pp.  114, 
143,  148.  —  dextro  =  faiesto ;  cf.  3, 
18,5. 

11.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  18,  i  : 
JVoti  ebiir  iieque  anrei///i  mea  reiii- 
det  ill  domo  lacunar,  71011  trabes 
Hymettiae  premunt  coliimnas  ul- 
tima  recisas.  —  Taenariis :  the 
marble  from  Taenarum  was  black, 
rare,  and  so  a  sign  of  wealth 
where    used. 

12.  camera :  a  vaulted  ceiling 
rather  than  the  /c?rw;/^r  (' panel 
ceiling')  referred  to  by  Horace. 

13.  Phaeacas:  the  special  fea- 
ture of  the  wealth  of  King  Alcin- 
ous  was  the    magnificence  of  his 


orchards  and  gardens.  Cf.  Horn. 
Od.  7,  112;  Verg.  Georg.  2,  87: 
pomaqiie  et  Alcinoi  silvae^ 

14.  operosa:  'artfully  con- 
structed ' ;  cf.  3,  3,  27.  —  Marcius  : 
i.e.  brought  by  the  Aqua  Marcia, 
whose  water  was  justly  celebrated 
in  ancient  times,  and  is  still  in  use 
at  Rome  ;  built  by  A.  Marcius  Rex 
in  144  F,.c.,  and  restored  by 
Agrippa  ;  cf.  3,  22,  24  :  aetenium 
Marcius  Jtmor  opus ;  Tib.  3,  6,  58  : 
temperet  annosum  Marcia  lympha 
ineriim  ;  Pliny,  Al'.  H.  31,  24,  41  : 
clarissima  aqiiariim  oiiiniiim  in 
toto  orbe  frigoris  saliibritatisqiie 
palma  praeconio  urbis  Marcia  est. 

16.  Calliopea:  Propertius  makes 
no  more  attempt  here  to  differen- 
tiate the  functions  of  individual 
Muses  than  Horace  does  in  ad- 
dressing at  different  times  Euterpe, 
Polyhymnia.  Clio,  and  Melpomene. 
Indeed  Calliope  is  the  only  Muse 
whom  Propertius  ever  mentions ; 
cf.  3,  3,  38,  n. 

17.  libello  :  '  my  verse ' ;  a  non- 
committal word;  cf.  2,  13,  25,  n. 

75 


2,    1 81 


PROPERIl 


20 


25 


carmina  erunt  formae  tot  monimenta  tuae. 
nam  neque  pyramidura  sumptus  ad  sidera  ducti 

nee  lovis  Elei  caelum  imitata  domus 
nee  Mausolei  dives  fortuna  sepulcri 
^'  mortis  ab  extrema  condicione  vaeant. 
aut  illis  flam  ma  aut  imber  subdueet  honores, 

annorum  aut  ietu  pondere  vieta  ruent. 
at  non  ingenio  quaesitum  noraen  ab  aevo 

exeidet :  ingenio  stat  sine  morte  deeus. 


Visus  eram  molli  recubans  Helieonis  in  umbra, 
Bellerophontei  qua  fluit  umor  equi, 

24.   pondere  NDVL  pondera  F. 


ig-24.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  3,  30,  i- 
5  :  Exegi  }>io)ui>iientnni  acre  per- 
enniits  regaliqite  situ  pyraiiiidiiin 
altiiis,  quod  itou  iinber  edax,  non 
Aqiiilo  i)npoteiis  possit  din/ere 
aut  innumerabilis  annorum  series 
et  ftiga  temporjun. 

19.  pyramidum  sumptus  .  .  . 
ducti :  poetic  for  pyramides  siuiip- 
tuosae  ductae. 

20.  The  Zeus-temple  at  Olympia 
had  no  roof  over  the  cella,  which 
was  itself  of  large  proportions  ;  so 
Zeus  might  seem  to  the  worshiper 
literally  enthroned  in  the  sky. 

21.  For  the  construction  cf.  v. 
19,  n.  The  tomb  of  King  Mauso- 
lus  of  Halicarnassus,  built  by  his 
wife,  Artemisia,  was  of  such  size 
and  grandeur  that  it  was  consid- 


ered one  of  the  seven  wonders  of 
the  world,  and  has  given  the  name 
ever  since  to  any  tomb  of  unusual 
size  or  beauty.     Cf.  Pliny,  N.  H. 

36.  5»  30- 

24.  annorum  .  .  .  ietu :  like  the 
steady  stroke  of  the  battering-ram. 

25.  ab  aevo  exeidet :  the  cause 
is  represented  under  its  original 
guise  of  source.  It  may  be 
thought  of  as  the  agent,  and  the 
verb  rendered  as  a  passive.  L. 
1318  ;  A.  &  G.  404  ;  405,  a. 

3.  3 

The  idea  of  the  previous  elegy 
that  the  poet  is  divinely  called  to 
this  field  of  his  art  rather  than  to 
epic  strains  is  here  repeated  in 
the  form  of  a   dream.     The  fre- 


276 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[3,  6 


reges,  Alba,  tuos  et  regum  facta  tuorum, 
tantum  operis,  nervis  hiscere  posse  meis, 

parvaque  tam  magnis  admoram  fontibus  ora, 
unde  pater  sitiens  Ennius  ante  bibit, 


quent  recurrence  of  a  similar 
theme,  e.g.  in  2,  lo  ;  3,  9  ;  and  his 
more  elaborate  apology  in  3,  11, 
betray  a  restless  longing  on  the 
part  of  Propertius  to  essay  more 
serious  writing,  a  consummation 
which  he  had  already  begun  to 
reach  in  Book  4,  and  might  well 
have  fully  realized,  had  he  enjoyed 
long  life. 

1-12:  '  Methought  on  Helicon 
I  sang  the  glorious  past  of  Rome  ; 
13-24:  but  Phoebus  chid  me  for 
wandering  from  my  province ; 
25-36:  and,  leading  me  to  the 
Muses'  grot,  showed  me  how  they 
were  busy  each  with  her  appointed 
function;  37-52:  thenoneof them, 
—  I  think.  Calliope, — appointed 
me  my  lot,  to  sing  of  love,  and  gave 
me  an  inspiring  draught  from  the 
spring  whence  drank  Philetas.' 

I.  Visus  eram :  the  tense  in- 
dicates that  he  had  already  entered 
upon  the  themes  he  mentions, 
when  he  was  interrupted  by  Apollo, 
v.  13  (C.  S.).  Reference  to  the 
famous  dream  of  Ennius  on  Heli- 
con is  a  commonplace  in  Roman 
literature ;  cf.  Pers.  Prol.  i  :  nee 
foii/e  labra  prolui  caballino,  nee  in 
bieipiti  soinniasse  Parnaso  me- 
mini ;  Cic.  Som.  Scip.  i,  2: 
Variant  aliquid  in  sonino  tale 
quale  de  Homero  seribit  Ennius  ; 


Fronto,  4 :  Ennium  nostrum, 
qitcin  til  ais  ex  somno  et  somnio 
inititiin  sibi  feeisse.  —  Heliconis  : 
the  favorite  haunt  of  the  Muses  ; 
cf.  2,  ID,  I  ;  3,  5,  19. 

2.  Bellerophontei  .  .  .  umor 
equi :  Hippocrene.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  produced  by  the  hoof 
of  Pegasus,  the  horse  which 
carried  Bellerophon  in  the  fight 
against  Chimaera  (C.  S.). 

4.  tantum  operis :  for  the  ex- 
pression cf.  3,  II,  70;  for  the 
syntax,  an  apposition  with  the 
rest  of  vv.  3  and  4,  cf.  L.  loSi. 
Coming  between  the  verb  and  its 
object,  this  expression  serves 
somewhat  to  tone  down  the  harsh- 
ness of  the  construction.  — his- 
cere: c^  2,  31,  6;  Browning, 
The  Glove,  i  :  " '  Heigh o  ! ' 
yawned  one  day  King  Francis, 
'  Distance  all  value  enhances  ! '  " 
Still  better,  in  the  sense  of  speak- 
ing in  a  braggart  or  presumptuous  ' 
manner,  cf.  Ayenbite  of  Inwyt : 
''  Yelpth  other  of  his  wyth,  other 
of  his  kenne,  other  of  his  workes." 
Cf.  also  Walt  Whitman,  Song 
of  Myself,  52 :  ^'  I  sound  my 
barbaric  yawp  over  the  roofs  of 
the  world." 

6.  pater:  Ennius  is  tradi- 
tionally the  'father'  of  Roman 
poetry;  cf.  Hor.  Ep.  i,  19,  7. 


277 


3.  7] 


PROPERTl 


lo 


et  cecini  Curios  fratres  et  Horatia  pila, 
regiaque  Aemilia  vecta  tropaea  rate, 

victricesque  moras  Fabii  pugnamque  sinistram 
Cannensem  et  versos  ad  pia  vota  deos, 

Hannibalemque  lares  Romana  sede  fugantes, 
anseris  et  tutum  voce  fuisse  lovem, 

cum  me  Castalia  speculans  ex  arbore  Phoebus 

3.    7.    cecini  u  cecinit  0. 


7.  Curios  =  Curiatios  ;  for 
similar  poetic  shortenings  in 
Propertius,  besides  Horatia  and 
Aemilia  in  this  passage,  cf.  Baiae 
(i,  II,  30).  Tatiae  (4.  4.  31).  etc. 
This  unusually  violent  abbrevia- 
tion may  have  been  supported  in 
the  mind  of  Propertius  by  the  idea 
that  the  Roman  Curii  were  de- 
scended from  the  Curiatii,  there 
being  some  doubt  in  antiquity 
whether  the  latter  were  Alban  or 
Roman  champions.  Cf.  Livy, 
I,  24.  I  {nomintim  error  viaiiet^ 
at  the  beginning  of  the  descrip- 
tion of  this  famous  combat.  — 
pila :  the  spoils  of  the  Curiatii 
taken  by  Horatius  were  probably 
placed  upon  a  memorial  column. 
At  any  rate  there  was  a  pila 
Horatia  in  the  Forum  at  the 
corner  of  the  Basilica  Julia;  cf. 
Platner,  Top.  p.  258.  Cf.  3,  4, 
6,  n. 

8.  regia  .  .  .  tropaea :  refer- 
ring to  the  victory  at  Pydna  over 
Perseus,  King  of  Macedonia,  by 
Aemilius  Paulus  in  168  B.C. 

9.  moras  Fabii:  the  success- 
ful policy  of  Fabius  Cunctator 
against  Hannibal. 


10.  versos  .  .  .  deos :  after  the 
battle  of  Cannae  the  gods  lis- 
tened to  the  prayers  of  the  Ro- 
mans and  became  propitious 
(C.S.). 

11.  lares:  the  mysterious 
failure  of  Hannibal  to  take  Rome 
in  211  B.C.  was  attributed  to 
divine  interposition ;  cf  Varro, 
Sat.  Men.  {Here.  T.  F.)  : 
iioetii  Hannibalis  cum  fitgavi  ex- 
ereitiini^  Tiitaniis  hoc  Tiitaiuim 
Roiitae  niineupor  ;  and  for  another 
tradition,  Paulus,  Epit.  Festi,  p. 
283  ;  Rediciili  fanum  extra portam 
Capena/n  fitit,  quia  accedens  ad 
(J r  be  in  Hannibal  ex  eo  loco  redierit 
quibusdam  perterritus  visis. 

12.  anseris  .  .  .  tutum  voce 
refers  to  the  historic  (?)  cackling 
which  saved  Jove's  temple  from 
the  Gauls  ;  cf.  Livy,  5,  47. 

13.  Castalia :  more  poetic  ge- 
ography !  Cf  Tib.  I,  3,7,  n.  Pro- 
pertius speaks  of  a  Pierian  spring, 
a  Castalian  wood,  or  the  shades  of 
Helicon,  in  a  conventional  sense, 
much  as  we  do  to-day.  Castalia 
is,  of  course,  on  Parnassus  in 
Phocis,  while  the  poet  is  supposed 
to   be   dreaming   on    Helicon   in 


278 


ELEGIAKVM    LIP.ER   III 


[3.  27 


sic  ait,  aurata  nixus  ad  antra  lyra, 
15      '  quid  tibi  cum  tali,  demens,  est  flumine  ?  quis  te 
carminis  heroi  tangere  iussit  opus  ? 
non  hie  ulla  tibi  speranda  est  fama,  Properti : 

mollia  sunt  parvis  prata  terenda  rotis, 
ut  tuus  in  scamno  iactetur  saepe  libellus, 
^o  quern  legat  expectans  sola  puella  virum. 

cur  tua  praescripto  sevecta  est  pagina  gyro  ? 

non  est  ingenii  cymba  gravanda  tui. 
alter  remus  aquas,  alter  tibi  radat  arenas : 
tutus  eris :  medio  maxima  turba  marist.' 
25      dixerat,  et  plectro  sedem  mihi  monstrat  eburno, 
qua  nova  muscoso  semita  facta  solost. 
hie  erat  adfixis  viridis  spelunca  lapillis, 


Boeotia  ' — arbore  :    laurel;    here 
used  collectively. 

15.  flumine :  i.e.  fontibus,  v. 
5(C.S.). 

17.  hie  :   '  in  this  field.' 

18.  •  Thy  tiny  wheels  must 
press  the  velvet  mead ' :  a  pretty 
metaphor  for  the  simple  prose, 
'  Elegy  is  your  proper  field ' ; 
yours  are  no  chariot  wheels  to  rut 
the  battlefield  (C.  S.). 

19.  iactetur  saepe :  Decause  of 
the  impatient  restlessness  of  the 
piiella  under  these  conditions. 
Postgate  recalls  Strato  ''  address- 
ing his  book  "  :  TroAAaKi  <f>oiT7]TeL<i 
VTroKoX-jnov  r}  napa  8(,'<^pois  (SXrjOev- 

21.  sevecta  :  uTra^  \ey.  —  gyro  : 
the  elegiac  routine  (C.  S.).  Pro- 
pertius  uses  the  word  again,  in  its 
literal  sense,  in  3,  14,  11  :  gyrum 
pulsat  equis. 


22.  non  .  .  .  gravanda :  '  must 
not  be  overloaded.'' 

23.  Cf.  3,  9,  35;  Verg.  Aen.  5, 
163  :  lit  lis  aiiia  et  laevas  striiigat 
sine  palinitla  caiites  ;  a/tum  alii 
teneant. 

24.  turba:  'turmoil';  hence 
danger  to  so  slight  a  craft.  The 
clash  of  conflicting  armies,  or  other 
epic  theme,  is  no  suitable  inspira- 
tion for  the  genius  of  Propertius. 

25.  dixerat :  itself  a  reminis- 
cence of  the  conventional  epic 
manner. 

27.  adfixis  .  .  .  lapillis  :  cf  the 
shell  room  in  the  '  New  Palace  ' 
at  Potsdam.  Propertius  had 
doubtless  seen  artificial  grottoes 
corresponding  to  this  description 
in  the  parks  of  well-to-do  Romans. 
Pliny  calls  them  by  the  significant 
name    niusaea    (tV.    H.    36,    21, 


279 


3.  28] 


PROPERTl 


pendebantque  cavis  tympana  pumicibus, 
orgia  Musarum  et  Sileni  patris  imago 
30  fictilis,  et  calami,  Pan  Tegeaee,  tui, 

et  Veneris  dominae  volucres,  mea  turba,  columbae 

tingunt  Gorgoneo  punica  rostra  lacu, 
diversaeque  novem  sortitae  rura  puellae 

exercent  teneras  in  sua  dona  manus. 
35      haec  hederas  legit  in  thyrsos.  haec  carmina  nervis 

aptat,  at  ilia  manu  texit  utraque  rosam. 
e  quarum  numero  me  contigit  una  dearum  : 

29.    orgia  Heinsius  ergo  0  organa  Eldikius. 


1 54)  ;  cf.  operosa  .  .  .  antra   (3, 
2,  14). 

28.  tympana  :  the  tambourines 
especially  dedicated  to  Cybele 
(C.  S.),  and  used  also  in  the  serv- 
ice of  Bacchus,  who  sometimes 
supplanted  Apollo  as  the  inspirer 
of  poetry  ;  cf.  4,  i,  62  ;  3,  2,  9,  n. ; 
2,  30,  38  ;  Tib.  I,  7,  37  ;  Ovid,  Met. 
II,  17:  tympanaqiie  et  plausus  et 
Bacchei  ululaius  obstrepuere  sono 
citharae. 

29.  orgia :  '  mystic  instru- 
ments.'—  imago:  a  terra  cotta 
bust;  cf.  E.  Maass  in  Hermes, 
Vol.  31  (1896),  p.  382. 

30.  Tegeaee  :  Tegea  was  a  typi- 
cal Arcadian  town,  and  Arcadia  was 
the  home  of  Pan.  For  the  special 
cult  of  Pan  at  Tegea,  cf.  Farnell, 
Greek  Cults,  Vol.  4,  p.  433. 

31.  mea  turba  =  w^a  ciira,  or 
meae  deliciae  (C.  S.) . —  columbae  : 
amorous  birds,  sacred  to  Venus ; 
cf.  4,  5,  63 :  Ovid,  Met.  13,  674. 

32.  tingunt:  'moisten.''  —  Gor- 
goneo .  .  .  lacu:  Hippocrene, pro- 


duced by  the  hoof  of  Pegasus ; 
and  Pegasus  sprang  from  the 
blood  of  the  Gorgon  Medusa,  and 
is  sometimes  called  equus  Medu- 
saeus  {Q.  "$>.).  Cf.  v.  2,  n.  ;  3,  i, 
19,  n. — punica:  'purple-red,'  the 
adjective  referring  more  to  their 
famous  dye  than  to  the  people  who 
produced  it.  Cf.  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6, 
22   (of  a  parrot) . 

33.  diversae  :  in  dilTerent  parts 
of  the  cave.  The  nine  Muses  are 
represented  as  each  engaged  in 
her  allotted  sphere  (C.  S.).  But 
this  does  not  necessarily  refer  to 
the  stereotyped  functions  of  later 
times. 

35.  in  thyrsos :  purpose  ace. 
The  Muse  is  given  the  function 
of  a  Bacchante,  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  the  passage.  Cf.  v. 
28,  n.;  2,  30,  38:  me  dins  do  eta 
ciispide  Bacchus  erit ;  Lucr.  i ,  922  : 
acri  percuss/t  thyrso  laudis  spes 
tnagna  meu?)!  cor  et  simul  incussit 
suavem  mi  in  pectus  amor  em 
Musarum. 


280 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[3,  48 


ut  reor  a  facie,  Calliopea  fuit. 
*  contentus  niveis  semper  vectabere  cycnis, 
40  nee  te  fortis  equi  ducet  ad  arma  sonus. 

nil  tibi  sit  rauco  praeconia  classica  cornu 

flare,  nee  Aonium  tinguere  Marte  nemus, 
aut  quibus  in  campis  Mariano  proelia  signo 

stent  et  Teutonicas  Roma  refringat  opes, 
45      barbarus  aut  Suevo  perfusus  sanguine  Rhenus 

saucia  maerenti  corpora  vectet  aqua, 
quippe  coronatos  alienum  ad  limen  amantes 

nocturnaeque  canes  ebria  signa  fugae, 

42.    flare  Frulerius  flere  0. 

38.  Calliopea:  cf.  3.  2,  16,  n. 
While  Propertius  uses  this  form 
in  these  two  passages  and  in  i,  2, 
28,  he  employs  the  shorter  form 
in  V.  51,  and  in  two  other  passages  : 
2,  1,3;  4,6,  12. 

39.  vectabere  cycnis :  Proper- 
tius as  an  erotic  poet  fancies  him- 
self riding  in  the  car  of  Venus 
herself,  as  Ovid  did, ./.  A.  3,  809  : 
cygnis  desceiidere  ie/npiis,  diixe- 
runt  collo  qui  mga  nostra  siw. 
Sometimes  it  is  drawn  by  doves, 
and  again  by  swans ;  cf.  Hor. 
Car.  3,  28,  14:  Paphttm  iunctis 
visit  flloribus. 

40.  arma :  i.e.  epic  poetry. 
Cf.  I,  7,  I,  n. 

41.  *  Be  it  not  yours  to  blare 
with  hoarse  trumpet  the  praise  of 
naval  fights'  (C.  S.).  — tibi :  adte 
would  be  rather  more  regular,  but 
the  construction  varies  widely,  and 
Propertius  is  fond  of  the  dative ; 
cf.  Lucr.  3.  830  :  nil  igitiir  mors  est 
ad  nos ;  Tib.  4,  3,  3 :  nee  tibi  sit 


diiros  acuisse  in  proelia  denies ; 
Plant.  Stic/i.  718:  hand  tuom 
istuc  est  te  vereri. 

42.  Aonium  .  .  .  nemus  :  cf.  i, 
2,  28,  n. 

43.  The  construction  shifts 
from  the  infinitive  clause  to  the 
substantive  clause  of  ind.  quest.  — 
quibus  in  campis  :  Marius  defeated 
the  Teutons  at  Aquae  Sextiae  in 
102  B.C.,  and  the  Cimbri  near 
Vercellae,  a  year  later.  —  Mariano 
.  .  .  signo :  Marius  made  the 
eagle  the  exclusive  mark  of  the 
Roman  legions.  Wolves,  mino- 
taurs,  horses,  and  boars  had  pre- 
viously also  been  used  (C.  S.). 

45.  It  is  most  natural  to  sup- 
pose that  the  poet  refers  to  the 
victory  of  Caesar  over  Ariovistus 
in  58  B.C.,  cf.  Caes.  /?.  G.  i,  53. 

47.  coronatos  :  still  wearing  the 
garlands  of  this  evening's  revel.  — 
alienum:   cf.  I'iros  (v.  50). 

48.  ebria  signa  fugae :  in  hu- 
morous contrast  with  v.  43.     We 


281 


3.  49] 


PROPERTI 


ut  per  te  clausas  sciat  excantare  puellas, 
50  qui  volet  austeros  arte  ferire  viros.' 

talia  Calliope,  lymphisque  a  fonte  petitis 
ora  Philetaea  nostra  rigavit  aqua. 


Arma  deus  Caesar  dites  meditatur  ad  Indos, 
et  freta  gemmiferi  findere  classe  maris. 


see  here  the  picture  of  the  torches 
borne  with  unsteady  hand  by  tlie 
roisterers  who  disturb  domestic 
peace,  hurrying  this  way  and  that 
to  escape  just  punishment  for 
their  insults.  The  adjective  be- 
longs more  Vo  fiigae  than  to  sigiia. 

49-50.  A  task  worthy  of  Ovid  ! 
Cf.  also  Tib.  i,  i,  ']->y  \  2,  i,  75-78. 

50.  ferire:  'to  trick';  a  slang 
use  which  reminds  the  reader  of 
Plant.  Trill.  247  :  il>i  ilia  peiiden- 
tem  ferit ;  also  of  our  colloquial 
"  strike  the  old  man  for  fifty  dol- 
lars "  ;  cf.  Ter.  Phorin.  47,  fcrietiir 
alio  fiit/fiere.  —  viros  :  '  husbands.' 

52.    Philetaea:  cf.  3,  i,  i,  n. 

3'  4 

Propertius  expresses  confidence 
that  the  projected  expedition 
against  the  Parthians  will  achieve 
great  success.  In  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  the  preceding  elegy 
he  disclaims  any  direct  interest  in 
the  expected  spoils  of  victory  won 
by  heroic  deeds,  but  hopes  as  a 
lover  to  gaze  with  his  lady  upon 


the  expected  triumph  of  Augustus. 

i-io:  'The  expedition  that 
Caesar  is  planning  will  surely 
bring  victory,  revenge,  and  rich 
booty;  11-22:  ye  gods,  let  me 
live  to  see  with  my  darling  the 
glorious  triumph  on  his  return.' 

I.  deus:  starting  with  the  wor- 
ship of  the  city  of  Rome,  which 
had  begun  here  and  there  in  the 
East  in  republican  times,  Augustus 
organized  throughout  the  prov- 
inces of  the  empire  a  regular  wor- 
ship of  Rojiia  et  Augustus.  The 
direct  worship  of  Augustus  in  his 
lifetime  sprang  up  here  and  there 
in  Italy  where  individuals  or  com- 
munities were  under  some  special 
obligation  to  him,  or  for  some 
similar  reason.  In  Cumae  a 
temple  was  erected  to  him.  In 
the  city  of  Rome  itself  he  deemed 
it  politic  to  permit  only  the  in- 
direct worship  under  the  form  of 
the  Lares  Augusti  and  the  Genius 
Caesaris.  The  poets,  however,  do 
not  hesitate  to  use  the  word  deus 
of  their  patron.  Cf.  4,  11,  60; 
Rusliforth,    Latin    Historical  In- 


282 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[4,  9 


magna,  viri,  merces.     parat  ultima  terra  triumphos  : 
Tigris  ct  Euphrates  sub  tua  iura  fluent: 

sera,  sed  Ausoniis  veniet  provincia  virgis  : 
adsuescent  Latio  Partha  tropaea  lovi. 

ite  agite,  expertae  bello  date  lintea  prorae, 
et  solitum  armigeri  ducite  munus  equi. 

omina  fausta  cano.     Crassos  clademque  piate: 


scriptions,  pp.  44-46 ;  Shuck- 
burgh,  Aiigusins,  p.  196;  Hor. 
Car.  4,  5,  32-35:  Ep.  2,  I,  16; 
Verg.  Ec.  i,  6.  —  meditatur : 
Rome  had  long  been  restless  to 
recover  from  the  Parthians  its  lost 
military  standards,  and  once  for 
all  to  settle  the  supremacy  of 
the  East.  In  22  b  c.  Augustus 
finally  started  with  an  army  for 
the  East  via  Sicily.  Ikit  the 
victory  was  a  bloodless  one,  for 
in  20  B.C.,  the  Parthian  king 
Phraates  sent  back  the  Roman 
standards  and  such  prisoners  as 
did  not  prefer  to  remain.  — Indos  : 
poetic  enthusiasm  is  largely  re- 
sponsible for  the  word  here.  The 
Indians  represent  the  far  East,  but 
the  Parthians  were  the  real  limit 
of  the  martial  plans  of  the  hour. 
Cf.  2,  10,  15,  n. 

2.  gemmiferi  .  .  .  maris :  cf. 
Tib.  2,  2,  15    16,  nn. ;   4,  2,  ig-20. 

3.  viri:  those  planning  to  ac- 
company Augustus  on  the  expetli- 
tion  ;  cf.  v.  21.  —  parat:  sc.  /ibi 
{i.e.  Augustus)  from  the  tita  in  v.  4. 

4.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  9,  21  : 
MediiJiiqiie  flujiien  gentibits  ad- 
ditiun  victis  jnijiores  ^lolvere 
vertices. 


5.  provincia:  i.e.  the  ulti)na 
terra  of  v.  3.  —  virgis  :  dative  ;  the 
fasces,  an  emblem  of  Roman 
authority. 

6.  Partha:  it  is  common  in 
poetry  to  use  the  gentile  name  for 
the  adjective  (here  Parthica)  ;  cf. 
3,  3,  7. — tropaea:  the  poet  fore- 
sees not  merely  the  return  of  the 
lost  Roman  standards,  but  also 
the  placing  of  Parthian  emblems 
in  the  temple  of  the  Capitoline 
Jove. 

7-8.  While  Propertius  has  laid 
himself  open  to  the  charge  of 
ambiguity  as  to  the  synta.x  of 
prorae  and  eqiiiy  it  seems  most 
likely  that  he  is  intending  to  ad- 
dress ite  agite  to  the  viri  of  v. 
3,  and  that  the  same  vocative  is 
in  mind  in  vv.  9  and  10 ;  prorae 
as  dative  is  also  more  logical  than 
as  a  vocative ;  while  ducite  is 
natural  for  the  rider,  but  not  for 
the  horse.  '  Guide  the  accustomed 
task  of  the  war  horse  '  is  Propertian 
for  '  Guide  the  war  horse  to  perform 
his  familiar  function.' 

9.  omina  .  .  .  cano :  cf.  Tib. 
2,  I,  25.  —  Crassos:  cf.  2,  10,  14, 
n.  While  the  great  defeat  at 
Carrhae  in  53  B.C.  loomed  largest 


283 


4,  lo] 


PROPERTI 


10 


IS 


ite  et  Romanae  consulite  historiae. 
Mars  pater  et  sacrae  fatalia  lumina  Vestae, 

ante  meos  obitus  sit,  precor,  ilia  dies 
qua  videam  spoliis  oneratos  Caesaris  axes, 

ad  vulgi  plausus  saepe  resistere  equos, 
inque  sinu  carae  nixus  spectare  puellae 

incipiam,  et  titulis  oppida  capta  legam, 
tela  fugacis  equi  et  bracati  militis  arcus 

et  subter  captos  arma  sedere  duces. 


in  Roman  thought,  the  standards 
returned  to  Augustus  included 
also  those  lost  by  Decidius  Saxa 
in  40  B.C.  and  by  Antony  in  36 
B.C. 

II.  Mars  pater:  Mars  as  the 
father  of  Romulus  and  Remus  had 
a  clear  title  to  this  designation, 
but  he  and  Jove  did  not  enjoy  a 
monopoly  of  the  distinction  ;  cf 
Lucil.  1,9  (Mueller)  :  nemo  7tt  sii 
nostrum^  qiiht  aid  pater  optiu/iit' 
divom  aiit  Neptiinit'  pater,  Liber, 
Sat  urn  Ji '  pater.  Mars,  /aiiu\ 
Qnirinii''  pater  siet  ac  dicatitr  ad 
nnuifi.  —  fatalia :  the  Romans 
believed  the  destiny  of  Rome 
was  closely  linked  with  the  life 
or  extinction  of  the  sacred  lire 
of  Vesta;  cf.  Livy,  26,  27.  14: 
aeternos  ignes,  et  conditiiin  in 
penetrali  fatale  pigniis  iifiperii 
Ro»iani. 

13.  oneratos  .  .  .  axes:  figur- 
atively the  triumphal  car  of  tlie 
emperor  would  be  loaded  with 
spoils  :  literally  they  were  carried 
before  him  in  a  long  procession. 
See  Pohlmey,  Der  r'dmische  Tri- 
umph,   pp.     15    sqq.,    where    the 


various  features  of  the  triumph 
referred  to  in  the  following  verses 
are  described. 

14.  ad  .  .  .  plausus:  purpose 
ace.  The  triumphal  car  stopped 
ever  and  anon  for  the  trim/ip/iator 
to  receive  and  acknowledge  the 
plaudits  of  the  multitude ;  and 
the  line-spirited  horses  might 
seem  themselves  to  .share  in  this 
appreciation.     Cf.  Ovid,  Trist.  4, 

2,  53  :  ipse  soiio  plaitS7tqtte  sitnul 
f remit iiqiie    ca>tente     quadriiugos 

cenies  saepe  resistere  equos. 

16.  titulis :  the  inscription  upon 
the  representations  of  conquered 
towns  carried  in  the  procession ; 
cf  Tib.  2.  5.  116,  n.  ^ — oppida: 
object  of  both  spectare  and  legam, 
while  in  vv.  17-18  the  force  of 
spectare  only  is  continued. 

17.  fugacis  equi:  referring  to 
the  Parthians'  characteristic 
method  of  warfare. — bracati:  a 
feature  of  Oriental  dress;  cf.  Pers. 

3,  53  :  bra  cat  is  iidita  Medis  por 
ticus. 

18.  subter  :  with  arwfl.  It  was 
beneath  a  trophy  that  the  eminent 
captives  would  be  sitting  in  chains. 


284 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   TTI 


[5.  3 


20 


ipsa  tuam  serva  prolem,  Venus  :  hoc  sit  in  aevum, 
cernis  ab  Aenea  quod  superesse  caput. 

praeda  sit  haec  illis  quorum  meruere  labores : 
me  sat  erit  sacra  plaudere  posse  via. 


Pacis  Amor  deus  est,  pacem  veneramur  amantes : 

sat  mihi  cum  domina  proelia  dura  mea. 
nee  tantum  inviso  pectus  mihi  carpitur  auro, 


Cf.  Ovid,  Ex  P.  3,  4,  104 :  sietitquc 
super  victos  triinca  tropaea  viros. 
ig.    prolem :    Augustus,  as  the 
adopted  son  of  Julius  Caesar. 

21.  Cf.    Tib.    I,   I,   i;    49-50; 

75-77- 

22.  sacra.  .  .via:  the  regular 
route  of  a  triumphal  procession ; 
cf.  2,  I,  34:  Act  tag  lie  in  sacra 
cjirrere  rostra  via. 


3^5 

The  poet  once  again  defines  his 
mission  and  states  his  ambition. 
Though  not,  probably,  as  various 
eminent  scholars  have  believed, 
one  with  the  previous  elegy,  this 
may  be  regarded  as  a  medita- 
tion suggested  by  the  text  found 
in  the  final  couplet  of  3,  4,  and 
written  shortly  afterward.  Indeed 
it  forms  the  final  poem  of  the 
closely  connected  group  that  opens 
this  book,  and  that  is  also  con- 
nected in  thought  with  the  end  of 
Book  2.  Cf  Ites,  De  Properti  Ele- 
^iis  inter  se  Conexis,  pp.   51-56, 

285 


where  a  large  number  of  parallels 
in  this  group  is  cited. 

The  thought  is  similar  to  that 
in  Tib.  1,1,  and  various  passages 
in  Horace,  e.g.  in  Epod.  i,  i  ; 
Car.  2,  18  ;  2,  3  ;  I,  4;  etc.  With 
vv.  25-38,  cf.  Aetna.,  219-251. 
Curiously  at  variance  with  modern 
ideas  is  the  inclusion  under  scien- 
tific investigation  of  speculation 
with  regard  to  the  future  life. 

1-18  :  *  As  a  poet  of  love,  I  pre- 
fer peace  to  war  and  all  its  prizes 
for  which  men  struggle,  only  to 
leave  them  behind  when  death 
comes.  19-22 :  In  youth  I  have 
p'ayed  the  lover  and  sung  the 
songs  of  love ;  23-46 :  but  when 
advancing  age  has  cooled  love's 
ardor,  let  it  be  my  delight  to  delve 
into  the  secrets  of  nature  and  try 
to  solve  the  problems  of  the  after- 
world.  47-48 :  You  who  love 
war,  bring  home  the  standards  of 
Crassus.' 

1-2.    Cf.   Tib.    I,  10,  49-56;   I, 
I,  73-76- 


5.  4J 


PROPERTI 


lO 


nec  bibit  e  gemma  divite  nostra  sitis, 
nee  mihi  mille  iugis  Campania  pinguis  aratur, 

nec  miser  aera  paro  clade,  Corinthe,  tua. 
o  prima  infelix  fingenti  terra  Prometheo ! 

ille  parum  caute  pectoris  egit  opus  : 
corpora  disponens  mentem  non  vidit  in  arte. 

recta  animi  primum  debuit  esse  via. 
nunc  maris  in  tantura  vento  iactamur,  et  hostem 

quaerimus,  atque  armis  nectimus  arma  nova, 
baud  uUas  portabis  opes  Acberontis  ad  undas  : 

5.    8.    caute  0  cauti  oj. 


4.  gemma:  cf.  Verg.  Ge(»x.  2, 
506  :  lit  gemma  bibat ;  Cic.  In  Ver. 
4,  62  :  erat  eliam  vas  vinariitiii, 
ex  una  gemma  pergrandi  tntlla 
excavata  manubrio  ajireo.  —  nos- 
tra sitis :  the  thing  for  the  per- 
son ;  cf.  3,  16,  17. 

5.  Campania :  the  most  fertile 
and  valuable  land  in  Italy  was, 
and  still  is,  in  this  district.  For  the 
thought,  cf.  Hor.  Sat.  2,  6,  i  : 
Hoc  erat  in  7>otis :  modus  agri 
non  ita  magnus ;  i,  6,  58  :  non  ego 
circ2im  me  Satureiano  vectari  r7ira 
caballo  .  .   .   narro. 

6.  miser:  in  his  present  temper 
Propertius  views  the  avaricious 
man  as  a  truly  pitiable  object ;  cf. 
Hor.  Sat.  i,  i,  63  :  iubeas  miserum 
esse,  libe?iier  quatenus  id  facit.  — 
aera  .  .  .  clade,  Corinthe :  the  es- 
pecially valuable  alloy  known  as 
Corinthian  bronze  was  said  to 
have  been  accidentally  produced 
at  the  destruction  of  Corinth  by 
Mummius  in  146  B.C.  Cf  Pliny, 
N.  H.  34,  2,  6 ;  hoc  casus  miscuit 


Corint/io,  cum  caperetur,  incensa. 
For  the  craze  for  the  genuine  arti- 
cle at  Rome  cf.  Hor.  Sat.  1,4,  27  : 
stupet  Albius  acre ;  2,  3,  20 :  quae- 
rere  amabam.,  quo  vafer  ille  pedes 
lavisset  Sisyphus  aere,  quid  sculp- 
tum  infabre,  quid  fusum  durius 
esset. 

7.  infelix :  i.e.  because  avarice 
was  one  of  the  elements  included 
in  the  composition  of  man ;  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  i,  16,  13  :  fertur  Prome- 
theus adder e  principi  limo  coactus 
particulam  undique.  —  Prome- 
theo :  for  representations  of  Pro- 
metheus creating  man,  cf.  Baurn. 
Den/c,  p.  1413.  For  the  syni- 
zesis,  cf.  Tib.  2,  i,  49. 

8.  parum  caute :  i.e.  he  ill  de- 
served his  name  "Prometheus" 
('  man  of  forethought '  )  =  provi- 
dens  (cf.  noti  vidit,  v.  9) .  — 
pectoris:  'the  heart';  cf.  vv.  g-io. 

II.  nunc:  referring  to  the  ac- 
tual state  of  things  in  contrast 
with  what  ought  to  have  been 
{debuit) . 


286 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[5.   25 


niJdus  at  inferna,  stulte,  vehere  rate. 
15      victor  cum  victis  pariter  miscebitur  umbris : 
consule  cum  Mario,  capte  lugurtha,  secies. 
Lydus  Dulichio  non  distat  Croesus  ab  Iro. 
optima  mors,  parca  quae  venit  acta  die. 
me  iuvat  in  prima  coluisse  Helicona  iuventa, 
20  musarumque  choris  inplicuisse  manus  : 

me  iuvat  et  multo  mentem  vincire  Lyaeo 
et  caput  in  verna  semper  habere  rosa. 
atque  ubi  iam  Venerem  gravis  interceperit  aetas, 
sparserit  et  nigras  alba  senecta  comas, 
25      turn  mihi  naturae  libeat  perdiscere  mores, 


14.  at  inferna  ,  .  .  rate  Schroder  ad  infernas  .  .  .  rates  0  ab  .  .  .  rate 
«  ad  infernos  .  .  .  rate  Palmer.  18.  parca  0  Parcae  Lachinann  car|ita 
Baehrens.  21.  iuvat  DV  iuvet  NFL.  24.  sparserit  et  N  sparserit  DV  sparsit 
et  FL.       et  nigras  w  integras  DV  et  integras  NFL. 


14.  nudus  .  .  .  stulte :  numer- 
ous parallels  from  Holy  Scripture 
will  occur  to  the  reader,  e.g.  Job 
I,  21:  "naked  shall  I  return 
thither";  Luke  12,  20:  "Thou 
fool,  .  .  .  then  whose  shall  those 
things  be,  which  thou  hast  pro- 
vided ?"  Lucian,  Dial.  Mort.  10. 
i5.  lugurtha  and  his  captor, 
Marius,  illustrate  victis  and  victor 
of  V.  15. 

17.  Dulichio  ...  Iro:  the  fa- 
mous beggar  in  the  Odyssey  (18 
init.),  a  type  of  poverty,  as  the 
more  famous  Croesus  is  a  type  of 
wealth.  For  the  thought,  cf.  Hon 
Car.  2,  14,  9:  Hilda  scilicet  om- 
nibus .  .  .  enaviganda,  sive  reges 
sive  inopes  erimiis  coloni ;  i,  4, 
13;  2,  18,32. 

287 


18.  parca :  this  word  .sums  up 
the  thought  of  the  elegy  thus  far: 
the  climax  of  the  best  life  is  that 
which  comes  in  the  natural  course 
of  human  events  to  the  man  of 
humble  means. 

19.  Cf.  4,  I,  131  sqq.  — Heli- 
cona :  cf.  3,  3,  I. 

20.  Cf.  3,  3,  37. 

21.  Cf.  2, 10,7. — vincire  Lyaeo : 
literally '  to  bind  with  the  loo.sener ' 
is  an  oxymoron  indicating  that  Pro- 
pertius  realizes  the  real  nature  of 
the  much-vaunted  freedom  that  is 
given  by  wine.  Cf.  Verg.  Georg. 
2,  94  :  icDiptatura  pedes  oliin  vinc- 
t It r ague  lingna^n. 

25.  mor&s  =  leges ;  cf.  Verg. 
A  en.  I,  264:  tnoresque  viris  et 
vioenia  ponet. 


S,  261 


PROPERTI 


quis  deus  banc  mundi  temperet  arte  domum, 
qua  venit  exoriens,  qua  deficit,  unde  coactis 

cornibus  in  plenum  menstrua  luna  redit, 
unde  salo  superant  venti,  quid  flamine  captet 
30  eurus,  et  in  nubes  unde  perennis  aqua, 

sit  Ventura  dies,  mundi  quae  subruat  arces, 

purpureus  pluvias  cur  bibit  arcus  aquas, 
aut  cur  Perrbaebi  tremuere  cacumina  Pindi, 

solis  et  atratis  luxerit  orbis  equis, 
35      cur  serus  versare  boves  et  plaustra  Bootes, 


26.  deus  .  .  .  temperet :  the 
Epicurean  idea  that  it  is  necessary 
to  eliminate  the  divine  element 
from  natural  law  is  not  followed 
by  Propertius,  any  more  than  by 
Horace;  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  12,  15: 
qui  mare  et  terras  variisque  mun- 
ditm  temperat  horis ;  but  Horace 
leaves  the  gods  out  in  Ep.  i,  12, 
16  {quid  temperet  annum),  where 
questions  similar  to  those  in  this 
passage  are  suggested.  Cf  also 
Ovid,  Met.  15,  66  sqq.  Vergil, 
on  the  other  hand,  does  not  raise 
the  question  of  theism  in  his  two 
well-known  passages  that  suggest 
questions  similar  to  those  broached 
here,  Georg.  2,  477  sqq.,  and  Aen. 
I,  742-746.  —  temperet:  'con- 
trols.' 

27.  venit :  there  is  a  character- 
istically Propertian  disregard  of 
mood  throughout  this  series  of  a 
score  of  indirect  questions,  the  in- 
dicatives somewhat  outnumbering 
the  subjunctives.  —  coactis  :  cf. 
Ovid,  Her.  2,  3 :  cornua  cum 
lunae  plena  semel  orbe  coissent , 


Met.  10,  295  :   coactis  cornibus  in 
ple7iuvi. 

31.  Cf.  Lucr.  5,  95  :  una  dies 
dabit  exitio,  quoted  by  Ovid,  Am. 
I,  15,  24.  Indeed  the  inspiration 
given  by  Lucretius  to  his  succes- 
sors in  similar  queries  is  incalcula- 
ble. 

32.  bibit:  a  common  poetic 
conception ;  cf.  Verg.  Georg.  i, 
380  :  bibit  ingens  arcus. 

33.  The  origin  of  earthquakes 
is  treated  under  a  typical  case.  viz. 
that  of  the  Pindus  range  between 
Thessaly  and  Epirus.  Tribes 
called  Perrhaebi  were  located  on 
either  side  of  this  range. 

34.  luxerit :  '  puts  on  mourn- 
ing.' 

35.  serus :  sc.  sit.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  Ursa  Major  does  not 
set  at  all  in  the  latitude  of  the 
Romans.  Cf.  Ovid,  Met.  2,  528  : 
gurgite  caeruleo  Septem  prohibete 
triones. — versare:  i.e.  to  set. 
Used  with  the  adjective  serus.  — 
boves  et  plaustra :  the  constella- 
tion of  the  Wain,  or  wagon,  i.e. 


288 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[5.4^ 


Pleiadum  spisso  cur  coit  igne  chorus, 
curve  suos  fines  altum  non  exeat  aequor, 

plenus  et  in  partes  quattuor  annus  eat, 
sub  terris  sint  iura  deutYi  et  tormenta  nocentum, 
40  Tisiphones  atro  si  furit  angue  caput, 

aut  Alcmaeoniae  furiae  aut  ieiunia  Phinei, 

num  rota,  num  scopuli,  num  sitis  inter  aquas, 
num  tribus  infernum  custodit  faucibus  antrum 

Cerberus,  et  Tityo  iugera  pauca  novem, 
45      an  ficta  in  miseras  descendit  fabula  gentis, 

et  timor  baud  ultra  quam  rogus  esse  potest. 

39.    nocentum  Haupt  Gigantum  FLDV  omitted  in  N  reorum  Housman. 


Ursa  Major,  or  the  Septemtrioties, 
the  seven  oxen.  Cf.  2,  33,  24: 
flectant  Icarii  sidera  tarda  boves. 
—  Bootes :  the  ox-driver,  or 
plowman,  whose  constellation, 
otherwise  known  as  Ursa  Minor, 
is  so  situated  that  it  seems  to  be 
driving  the  oxen  in  Ursa  Major. 

36.  Cf.  Germanicus,  Arat.  256  : 
Pleiades  suberunt  brevis  et  locus 
occitpat  o/nnes,  nee  faciles  cerni, 
nisi  quod  coeuntia  plura  sidera 
conmnmem  ostenditnt  ex  ontnibiis 
ignem ;  Hor.  Car.  4,  14,  21: 
Pleiadum  choro  scindente  nubes. 

37.  Cf.  Hor.  Ep.  I,  12,  16; 
Psalms  104,  g. 

39.  nocentum:  it  is  the  question 
of  future  punishment  for  guilty 
mortals  that  the  poet  is  proposing 
to  tackle,  cf.  Statius,  Silv.  2,  7, 
117:  nescis  Tartar  on  et  procul 
nocentum  audis  verbera. 

40.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  3,  69,  n. 

ROM.   EL.  POETS — I9  2 


41.  furiae:  Alcmaeon  was  pur- 
sued by  the  furies  for  having  slain 
his  mother  Eriphyle. — ieiunia: 
caused  by  the  Harpies,  who  were 
sent  to  steal  his  food,  after  he  had 
put  out  his  sons'  eyes.  Neither 
of  the  punishments  mentioned  in 
this  verse  was  ordinarily  supposed 
to  have  been  suffered  after  death. 

42.  rota:  of  Ixion.  —  scopuli: 
of  Sisyphus. — sitis:  of  Tantalus. 

44.  pauca  :  '  scant.'  —  Proper- 
tius  exaggerates  the  usual  form  of 
the  myth  willflilly,  showing  that  he 
has  reached  the  reductio  ad  absur- 
ditin  in  his  catalogue,  and  is  ready 
for  the  probable  alternative  of  the 
next  verse.     Cf.  Tib.  i.  3,  75. 

45.  Read  Lucr.  3,  978-1023  for 
the  Epicurean  explanation  of  all 
the  foregoing  myths. 

46.  We  should  have  expected 
ultra  rogum  in  place    of  this   il- 


logical statement. 


89 


5.  47] 


PROPERTI 


exitus  hie  vitae  superest  mihi :  vos,  quibus  arma 
grata  magis,  Crassi  signa  referte  domum. 


Ergo  sollicitae  tu  causa,  pecunia,  vitae, 
per  te  inmaturum  mortis  adimus  iter. 

47.    superest  0  superet  «. 
7.    I.   vitae  NFL  vitae  es  DVF2. 


47.  exitus  hie :    ie.    one   busy 
with  such  discussions. 

3>  7 

The  drowning  of  Paetus  with 
its  sad  lessons  and  reflections 
(C.  S.)-  It  is  not  improbable 
that  this  sympathetic  elegy  was 
written  to  comfort  the  sorrowing 
mother  of  the  ill-fated  youth,  of 
whose  personality  we  know 
nothing  that  is  not  contained  in 
the  poem  itself.  Pedantic  efforts 
to  rearrange,  in  what  has  seemed 
to  individual  scholars  a  more 
logical  order,  the  spontaneous 
expression  of  poetic  feeling  in  this 
typical  elegy  have  been  as  futile 
as  unnecessary.  Cf.  Tib.  i,  i, 
Intr. ;  J.  Vahlen  {Siizungsber.  d. 
Kgl.  Preiiss.  Akad.  d.  W'issen- 
schaften,  1883,  pp.  69-90)  has 
made  a  careful,  and  in  most  re- 
spects, convincing  study  of  the 
development  of  the  thought. 

1-12:  'O  money,  source  of 
many  woes,  'tis  thou  hast  over- 
whelmed Paetus  in  the  waters, 
and  left   to   his   sad   mother   not 


even  a  corse  to  bury!  13-28: 
Ye  winds,  ye  waves,  how  could 
you  destroy  so  innocent,  so  con- 
fiding a  youth  ?  Alas!  Agamem- 
non knew  your  ruthlessness  too 
well.  And  since  you  have  the 
life  of  Paetus,  restore  his  body  for 
burial,  that  his  tomb  may  warn 
others  against  like  rashness.  29- 
42:  But  nay!  Foolish  men  will 
not  cease  to  venture  on  the  deep, 
though  certain  ruin  awaits  them, 
as  Ulysses  learned.  43-66:  Pae- 
tus, too,  had  he  not  thirsted  for 
wealth,  might  now  be  alive. 
How  delicate  a  youth  for  so  ter- 
rible a  deatli!  So  did  he  tell 
the  gods  of  wind  and  wave,  as  the 
waters  closed  over  him.  67-72: 
Why  did  you  not  save  him, 
Nereids,  Thetis?  A  lesson  to  me, 
never  to  trust  myself  off  the  land ! ' 

1.  Ergo:  cf.  1,8,  I,  n. — Note 
the  middle  rime  in  this  and  many 
other  hexameter  verses  here. 

2.  inmaturum  :  hypallage ;  in 
thought  it  belongs  to  mortis.  — 
The  verse  ends  in  a  favorite 
rhythm    for   Book  3 ;    cf.   vv.    10, 

290 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    III 


[7.  16 


lo 


15 


tu  vitiis  hominum  crudelia  pabula  praebes : 

semina  curarum  de  capite  orta  tuo. 
tu  Paetum  ad  Pharios  tendentem  lintea  portus 

obruis  insano  terque  quaterque  mari. 
nam  dum  te  sequitur,  primo  miser  excidit  aevo, 

et  nova  longinquis  piscibiis  esca  natat : 
et  mater  non  iusta  piae  dare  debita  terrae, 

nee  pote  cognates  inter  humare  rogos, 
sed  tua  nunc  volucres  adstant  super  ossa  marinae, 

nunc  tibi  pro  tumulo  Carpathium  omne  marest. 
infelix  Aquilo,  raptae  timor  Orithyiae, 

quae  spolia  ex  illo  tanta  fuere  tibi  ? 
aut  quidnam  fracta  gaudes,  Neptune,  carina  ? 

portabat  sanctos  alveus  ille  viros. 


22 ;    see    Kuttner,    De    Propertii 
Eloaitione  Quaestiones,  p.  42. 

3.  crudelia  :  i.e.  in  the  result. 

4.  de  c«^*fee  .  .  .  tuo  =  de  te 
capite;  cf.  Cat.  55,  2:  ubi  si /it 
tieae  tenebrae. 

5.  Pharios  .  .  .  portus :  cf. 
Tib.  I,  3,  32,  n. 

6.  insano  .  .  .  mari:  cf.  i,  8, 
5  ;  Verg.  Ec.  9,  43  :  iiisani  feriaut 
sine  lit  or  a  fluctus.  —  terque  qua- 
terque :  a  common  expression  for 
an  indefinitely  large  number. 
Propertius  is  thinking  of  the  body 
of  Paetus  floating  long  in  the  sea. 

7.  dum  te  sequitur :  Paetus 
\vent  on  a  commercial  venture. — 
primo  .  .  .  aevo  :  temporal.  —  ex- 
cidit :  used  absolutely,  as  in  3,  2.  26. 

8.  Ovid  imitates  (^Ibis.  148) 
thus  :  nostraqiee  lotiginqjius  viscera 
piscis  edet.  It  rouses  the  poet's 
wrath  to  think  that  fish  in  foreign 


seas  must  have  new  delicacies 
while  thus  the  mother  of  Paetus 
cannot  bury  her  dead. 

9.  piae  .  .  .  terrae  :  dative ; 
otherwise  debita  is  superfluous ; 
'  the  earthly  remains  of  her  dutiful 
son.'  Cf.  2,  13,  42.  Cf.  English 
"pious  dust  of  the  martyrs.'' 

10.  pote  :  cf.  Cat.  72,  7,  n.  ;  76, 
16,  n.  —  cognates  .  .  .  rogos:  cf. 
Cat.  68,  98. 

11.  Cf.  Ovid,  Her.  10,  123: 
ossa  superstabmit  volticres  iiihit- 
fnata  marinae. 

12.  Carpathium  :  Horatian  par- 
ticularity ;  cf.  V.  57. 

13.  infelix:  'disastrous' 
(C.S.)  ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  2,  245: 
tnonstriiin  infelix  sacrata  sistinius 
arce.  —  timor:  'terror'  (C.  S.). — 
Orithyiae  :  cf.  2,  26,  n. 

16.  sanctos  :  involves  a  protest 
(C.  S.)  ;  'innocent';    akin  to  the 


291 


7.  17] 


PROPERTI 


20 


25 


Paete,  quid  aetatem  numeras  ?     quid  cara  natanti 

mater  in  ore  tibi  est?     non  habet  unda  deos. 
nam  tibi  nocturnis  ad  saxa  ligata  procellis 

omnia  detrito  vincula  fune  cadunt. 
sunt  Agamemnonias  testantia  litora  curas, 

quae  notat  Argynni  poena  minantis  aquae, 
hoc  iuvene  amisso  classem  non  solvit  Atrides, 

pro  qua  mactata  est  Ipbigenia  mora, 
reddite  corpus  humo  :  posita  est  in  gurgite  vita : 


22.  quae  FV  qua  NLD.  notat  0  natat  Fo  nota  w.  Argynni  V2  Ag)'nni  N 
Arginni  L  Argivum  DV  Argium  F  Argynnus  Waardenburg  Argynnum  Otto. 
poena  minantis  aquae  0  praeda  morantis  Thompson  praeda  minantis  Enk 
Athamantiadae  Hertzherg  Mimantis  aquae  Ellis. 


"  royal  plural  "  ;  cf.  4,  9,  34 :  pan- 
dite  defessis  Iwspita  fana  viris 
(of  Hercules),  and  Verg.  Aen.  7, 
98 :  externi  venieiit  generi  (of 
Aeneas). 

17.  aetatem  numeras:  'plead 
thy  youth'  (C.  S.)- 

18.  non  .  .  .  deos :  t.e.  Aquilo 
and  Neptunus.  just  addressed, 
must  be  mere  myths  ;  the  world  is 
too  much  out  of  joint  to  accept 
theism.  Cf.  Ennius,  Tela /no,  fr. 
I,  (Ribbeck)  :  nam  si  cureiit, 
bene  bonis  sil,  male  malis,  quod 
nunc  abest.     But  cf.  vv.  57  and  62. 

19.  nam:  proof  of  the  forego- 
ing assertion;  the  poet  thinks  it 
incredible  that  real  gods  should 
violate  the  helpless  trustfulness  of 
pious  men.  —  ad  saxa  ligata  :  cf. 
4,  I,  no.  But  I,  20,  20  has 
scopulis  adplicuisse  7- at  em. 

20.  detrito  .  .  .  fune :  i.e.  an 
essential  part  of  the  vinada  was 


worn   away    by  the  storm    during 


the  night. 

21.  sunt:  emphatic. — testan- 
tia :  '  that  can  call  to  witness,'  i.e. 
can  witness  to  the  treachery  of 
water,  as  expressed  in  v.  18.  — 
curas  :   '  grief.' 

22.  '  Which  gained  notoriety 
through  the  penalty  that  Argynnus 
paid  to  the  threatening  waters.' 
The  penalty  was  for  the  same 
misplaced  confidence  that  Paetus 
had  in  the  waters.  The  circum- 
stances were  different,  for  Argyn- 
nus. the  youth  beloved  of 
Agamemnon,  was  drowned  in  the 
Cephisus  River.  Agamemnon  was 
said  to  have  founded  there  a 
temple  in  memory  of  the  beautiful 
youth.  —  Argynni:  obj.  gen.  — 
aquae  :  subj.  gen. 

24.  Cf.  4,  I,  II 1-112. 

25.  reddite :  Propertius  is  ad- 
dressing the  waves,  but  does  not 


292 


i^ 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[7.  37 


Pactum  sponte  tua,  vilis  arena,  tegas  : 
et  quotiens  Paeti  transibit  nauta  sepulcrum, 

dicat  '  et  audaci  tu  timor  esse  potes.' 
ite,  rates  curvas  et  leti  texite  causas  : 
30  ista  per  humanas  mors  venit  acta  manus. 

terra  parum  fuerat  fatis :  adiecimus  undas, 

fortunae  miseras  auximus  arte  vias. 
ancora  te  teneat,  quem  non  tenucre  penates  ? 

quid  meritum  dicas,  cui  sua  terra  parumst  ? 
35      ventorum  est  quodcumque  paras  :  haut  ulla  carina 

consenuit,  fallit  portus  et  ipse  fidem. 
natura  insidians  pontum  substravit  avaris  : 

29.    curvas  Passer  at  curvae  0. 


feel  it   necessary  to  specify  them 
to  the  reader;  cf.  2,  11,  i,  n. 

26.  vilis :  the  poet  does  not 
hesitate  to  address  the  sand  by 
this  bitter  expression  of  his  feel- 
ings, because  he  does  not  think 
it  necessary  to  conciliate,  but 
assumes  the  service  asked  as 
due. 

28.  timor:  cf.  v.  13. 

29.  ite  .  .  .  texite  :  here  the 
address  is  to  the  fatuous  children 
of  men.  Cf.  3,  18,  17.  For  the 
rapid  change  of  persons  cf.  Tib. 
I,  7,  55,  n.— et:  cf.  i,  8,  36,  n.— 
leti  .  .  .  causas :  i.e.  rates. 

31.  Cf.  Sen.  Q.  N.  5,  18,  8: 
par  Jim  videlicet  ad  Dwrtes  nostras 
terra  late  patet ;  Hor.  Car.  i,  3, 
21-26;  Tib.  I,  3,  50. 

32.  fortunae:  evil  fortune,  in 
this  case.  She  has  been  biased 
to    their   harm    by    human    folly 


(C.  S.).  The  expression  is  only 
a  variation  on ///(^r/Zi-  .  .  .  iier{y. 
2)  ^nd  fatis  (v.  31). 

33.  te :  the  singular  is  used 
merely  to  individualize  the  ad- 
dress. The  poet  is  still  speaking 
to  the  foolish  men  who  venture 
upon  the  sea. 

34.  sua  terra  :  cf  Ovid.  Am.  2, 
1 1 ,  30  :  et  ^felix '  dicas,  '  quem  sua 
terra  tenet .' ' 

35.  haut  ulla  carina:  not  so 
much  of  a  hyperbole  then  as  it 
would  be  now.  But  commentators 
recall  the  yacht  of  Catullus  ;  and 
even  Propertius  himself  draws  the 
picture  he  here  refuses  to  recognize 
in  2,  25,  7  :  putris  et  i?t  vacua 
requiescit  navis  arena. 

36.  Cf.  2,  25,  23  :  an  quisquam 
in  mediis  persolvit  vota  procellis, 
cum  saepe  in  portu  fracta  carina 
natet. 


293 


7.  3S] 


PROPERTI 


ut  tibi  succedat,  vix  semel  esse  potest, 
saxa  triumphales  fregere  Capharea  puppes, 
40  naufraga  cum  vasto  Graecia  tracta  salost. 

pauUatim  socium  iacturam  flevit  Ulixes, 

in  mare  cui  soliti  non  valuere  doli. 
quod  si  contentus  patrio  bove  verteret  agros 

verbaque  duxisset  pondus  habere  mea, 
45      viveret  ante  suos  dulcis  conviva  penates, 

pauper,  at  in  terra,  nil  ubi  flere  potest, 
non  tulit  hie  Paetus  stridorem  audire  procellae 

et  duro  teneras  laedere  fune  manus, 


42.    soliti  w  soli  0  solum  w.     46.    flere  0  ^a.r&  Jacob. 
hunc  DVL  hoc  F. 


47.   hie  «  haec  N 


38.  One  prosperous  voyage  is 
great  good  luck  (C.  S.). 

39.  triumphales  .  .  .  puppes: 
the  Greek  fleet  on  its  return  after 
the  sack  of  Troy.  —  Capharea  :  the 
promontory  of  Caphareus,  or 
Cephereus,  on  the  southeast  coast 
of  Euboea,  where  Nauplius,  father 
of  Falamedes,  set  false  signals  in 
revenge  for  the  loss  of  his  son, 
and  wrecked  the  fleet.  Cf.  4,  i, 
1 1 3- 1 16. 

40.  Graecia:  a  strong  expres- 
sion for  the  catastrophe  suflfered 
by  the  fleet  by  whose  loss  Greece 
herself  was  overwhelmed  in  the 
briny  waste  (C.  S.). 

41 .  paullatim  :  to  be  taken  with 
iacturatn  (C.  S.).  —  socium:  the 
short  form  of  the  genitive,  found  in 
many  words,  was  regular  for  socins 
in  the  formula,  sociii/n  et  noniinis 
Latini. 


42.  in  here  =  'against.' — doli: 
'wiles.' 

43.  contentus:  the  subject  in 
the  Propertian  manner  abruptly 
returns  to  Paetus,  the  poet  un- 
consciously assuming  that  the 
reader  is  following  the  intensity 
of  his  own  thought. 

45.  dulcis:  i.e.  to  the  other 
convivae. 

46.  pauper:  relatively,  as  com- 
l)ared  with  the  wealth  he  hoped 
to  achieve  by  his  voyage.  —  nil 
.  .  .  potest :  the  disastrous,  sor- 
row-causing, heart-breaking  sea  is 
the  theme,  and  the  land,  in  com- 
parison, can  bring  no  tears  (C.  S. ). 
Render,  '  where  one  may  live  a 
tearless  life,'  i.e.  relatively.  None 
of  the  proposed  emendations  avoids 
hyperbole. 

47.  hie :  so  long  as  he  remained 
on  shore  (C.  S.). 


294 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   111 


L7.  59 


sed  Chio  thalamo  aut  Oricia  terebintho 
50  et  fultum  pluma  versicolore  caput. 

huic  fluctus  vivo  radicitus  abstullt  ungues, 

et  miser  invisam  traxit  hiatus  aquam  ; 
hunc  parvo  ferri  vidit  nox  inproba  ligno  : 

Paetus  ut  occideret,  tot  coiere  mala- 
55      flens  tamen  extremis  dedit  haec  mandata  querellis, 

cum  moribunda  niger  clauderet  ora  liquor. 
*  di  maris  Aegaei  quos  sunt  penes  aequora,  venti, 

et  quaecumque  meum  degravat  unda  caput, 
quo  rapitis  miseros  primae  lanuginis  annos? 

49.   Chio  0  Thyio  Snnten  Thyiae  Itali. 


49.  A  positive  verb  to  corre- 
spond with  the  negative  iion  tiilit 
must  be  supplied,  in  the  Proper- 
tian  manner;  the  editors  suggest 
amabat.  Cf.  i,  2,  30,  n.  —  Chio 
.  .  .  terebintho :  in  a  chamber 
finished  in  marble  from  Chios  or 
turpentine-wood  from  Oricum  ;  cf. 
"  I  dreamt  I  dwelt  in  marble 
halls."'  Propertius  is  again  reck- 
less of  his  syntax,  and  we  can 
speculate  as  to  whether  Oricia 
tcrchiiitlw  is  thought  of  as  express- 
ing material,  quality,  or  place. 
Note  the  hiatus  before  the  caesura ; 
cf.  Intr.  §  43. 

50.  pluma  versicolore :  i.e.  a 
feather  pillow  with  a  bright- 
colored  cover. 

51.  huic:  'from  so  delicate  a 
youth  as  this  ! ' —  vivo  :  to  enhance 
the  horror  of  the  contrast,  the  poet 
imagines  that  instead  of  losing  his 
nails  from  the  disintegrating  effect 


of  the  water  after  many  days,  he 
wears  them  down  to  the  roots  in 
the  vain  attempt  to  climb  upon 
the  wreck  or  up  some  sharp  rock 
against  which  he  is  dashed  by  the 
waves.     Cf.  Hom.  Od.  5,  432,  sqq. 

52.  miser  .  .  .  hiatus  —  Jutiiis 
iiiiseri  os  hians. 

53.  parvo  .  .  .  ligno :  the  poet 
imagines  Paetus  clinging  to  a  frag- 
ment of  the  wreck. 

54.  Paetus:  after  the  huic  and 
hitnc  of  the  preceding  verses  the 
repetition  of  the  name  here  achieves 
a  climax  of  emphasis,  in  contrast 
to  tot  coiere  mala.  Only  the  deli- 
cate Paetus,  and  yet  all  the  power 
of  the  cruel  sea  trained  upon  him! 

55.  mandata:  these  are  found 
in  vv.  63-64  after  the  qnerellae 
proper. 

57.    di:  i.e.  venti. 
59.    primae    lanuginis:  i.e.   of 
my  early  youth  (C.  S.). 


295 


7,  6o] 


PROPERTI 


60  attulimus  longas  in  freta  vestra  manus. 

ah  miser  alcyonum  scopulis  adfligar  acutis : 

in  me  caeruleo  fuscina  sumpta  deost. 
at  saltem  Italiae  regionibus  evehat  aestus : 
hoc  de  me  sat  erit  si  modo  matris  erit.' 
65      subtrahit  haec  fantem  torta  vertigine  fluctus  ; 
ultima  quae  Paeto  voxque  diesque  fuit. 
o  centum  aequoreae  Nereo  genitore  puellae, 

et  tu  raaterno  tacta  dolore  Thetis, 
vos  decuit  lasso  supponere  bracchia  mento : 
70  non  poterat  vestras  ille  gravare  manus. 

at  tu,  saeve  Aquilo,  riumquam  mea  vela  videbis 
ante  fores  dominae  condar  oportet  iners. 


60.   longas   0   sanctas    Waardenburg.       61.   adfligar   NFL  affiigor    DV 
affigar  ».       63.    evehat  0  advehat  w.       68.    tacta  Vj  tracta  0  fracta  Heinsius, 


60.  longas:  a  mark  of  beauty 
and  gentility  ;  cf.  2,  2,  5  :  fiihui 
coma  est  longaeque  tuanus ;  Cat. 
43'  3  :  ^('"A^'^'i-  digitis. 

61.  alcyonum:  i.e.  the  clift's 
about  which  they  fly.     Cf.  i,  17, 

2,  n. 

62.  caeruleo  .  .  .  deo:  Neptune; 
cf.  Ovid.  Trist.  i,  2,  59:  virides- 
que  dez,  quibus  aequora  curae. 

63.  evehat :  'yield  mc  up.'  Cf. 
Ovid,  He}-.  18,  197:  optabo  tainen 
ut  partis  expellar  in  iUas  et 
teneant  partus  naufraga  membra 
tuos. 

64.  hoc  de  me :  my  corpse  ;  cf. 

3,  12,  13  :  neve  aliqiiid de  te flendutn 
referatur ;  Verg.  Aen.  9,  491: 
hoc  mihi  de  te,  ftate,  refers  ?  hoc 
sum  terraque  mariqiie  seciita  ?  — 

296 


sat:  i.e.  all  that  can  be  expected 
under  the  circumstances,  and  as 
such  affording  satisfaction  to  his 
mother.  —  matris  erit:  i.e.  shall 
come  into  her  hands. 

67.  centum  :  the  orthodox  num- 
ber was  fifty ;  cf.  Hygin.  Fab., 
where  the  names  are  given.  But 
there  are  some  variations ;  cf. 
Ovid,  Fast.  6,  499 :  Fanope  cen- 
tiimque  sorores ;  Plato,  Critias, 
116  E. 


68.  materno 
Achilles. 

69.  lasso  .  . 
Fx  P.  2,  3,  39  : 


.  .  dolore :  i.e.  for 

mento :  cf.  Ovid, 
)nitiHS   est  lasso 


digitum  supponere  mento. 

72.  iners:  even  though  it  in- 
volve a  life  of  inactivity  (C  S.). 
Cf.  Tib.  I,  I,  58. 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[9.  6 


Maecenas  eques  Etrusco  de  sanguine  regum, 

intra  fortunam  qui  cupis  esse  tuam, 
quid  me  scribendi  tarn  vastum  mittis  in  aequor  ? 

non  sunt  apta  meae  grandia  vela  rati, 
turpe  est,  quod  nequeas,  capiti  committere  pondus, 

et  pressum  inflexo  mox  dare  terga  genu. 


3.  9 

In  reply  to  a  request  from 
Maecenas  to  essay  the  grand  style 
of  poetry.  Propertius  says  that  thus 
far  he  has  tried  to  imitate  his 
patron's  modesty,  and  hints  that 
he  must  continue  to  do  so  until 
Maecenas  shows  him  the  way  to 
heroic  strains.  That  this  is,  how- 
ever, only  an  arguineiiiitui  ad 
homine/n  is  evident  from  a  com- 
parison of  3,  I,  7  and  9;  2,  i,  and 
various  other  elegies  indicating 
clearly  the  poet's  own  taste.  Cf. 
Mallet,  (2uaestumes  Propertianae, 
p.  II. 

1-6:  'Noble,  yet  modest  Mae- 
cenas, why  do  you  urge  me  be- 
yond my  strength  ?  7-20  :  Men 
differ  in  their  gifts.  Non  onuiia 
possumns  omnes.  21-34:  I  have 
imitated  your  own  modesty  of 
achievement.  35-46  :  Rather  than 
venture  into  the  epic  field,  I  have 
been  satisfied  with  the  themes 
of  elegy;  47-60:  but,  if  you  will 
set  the  pace,  perhaps  I  may  yet 
relate  great  deeds.' 

297 


1.  eques  ...  regum :  Maecenas 
voluntarily  chose  to  remain  in 
the  rank  of  the  Equites  rather 
than  undertake  a  senatorial  ca- 
reer. Horace  frequently  refers  to 
this  fact,  and  to  the  royal  ancestry 
of  his  patron,  e.g.  Car.  i,  20,  5: 
care  Maecenas  eques ;  i ,  i ,  i  : 
Maecenas  atavis  edite  regibns ; 
Sat.  I,  6,  1-13;  Car.  3,  16,  20; 
29,  I. 

2.  Cf.  Veil.  Pat.  2,  88,  2  :  C. 
Maecenas  eqiiestri,  sed  splendido 
gen  ere  iiatus  .  .  .  nee  ini>iora  con- 
seqid  potiiit.,  sed  noti  tain  concu- 
pivit ;  Ovid,  Trist.  3,  4,  25  :  intra 
fortunam  debet  quisqjie  vianere 
suani. 

3.  scribendi  .  .  .  aequor:  cf  3, 
3,  23.  Commentators  note  that 
the  use  of  the  gerund  with  aequor 
is  like  a  modern  use  of  the  verbal 
noun. 

5.  nequeas:  sc.  ferre,  implied 
from  the  following  clause.  —  capiti : 
the  ancient,  as  well  as  the  modern, 
place  for  bearing  burdens,  in  Italy. 

6.  pressum  agrees  with  te  to 
be  supplied  from  nequeas.  —  dare 


9.  7] 


PROPERTI 


omnia  non  pariter  rerum  sunt  omnibus  apta, 
-    fama  nee  ex  aequo  ducitur  ulla  iugo. 
gloria  Lysippo  est  animosa  effingere  signa, 
lo  exactis  Calamis  se  mihi  iactat  equis, 

in  Veneris  tabula  summum  sibi  poscit  Apelles, 
Parrhasius  parva  vindicat  arte  locum, 

9.    8.    fama  to  flamma  0  (flamina  LD)  {cf.  Erik)  palma  /tali,    ulla  0  una  w, 
II.    summum    Rothstein   suma    L    summam    NFDV. 


terga  :  Propertius  mixes  metaphors 
here ;  for  this  phrase  belongs  to 
military  life. 

7.  omnia  .  .  .  rerum:  stronger 
than  omnes  res,  just  as  opaca 
locorjim  (Verg.  Aen.  2,  725)  is 
stronger  than  opaca  loca,  implying 
minuter  detail.  The  idea  of  the 
verse  is  a  commonplace. 

8.  The  thought  of  this  mucli- 
discussed  verse  (cf.  B.  O.  Foster 
in  Matzke  Meuwrial  Voha/ie,  pp. 
103  sqq.)  is  closely  connected  by 
nee  to  that  of  the  preceding  verse. 
Men  have  their  individual  ex- 
cellencies, and  cannot  excel  if 
compelled  to  do  exactly  as  their 
neighbors,  i.e.  to  trot  in  pairs  ;  for 
in  a  pair,  team-work  is  desired,  as 
in  a  single  hitch  individual  superi- 
ority is  striven  for.  —  aequo  may 
perhaps  be  rendered  'equalizing.' 

g.  Lysippo :  his  specialty  was 
bronze  statuary  and  his  portrait 
work  was  so  celebrated  that  Alex- 
ander the  Great  gave  him  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  represent  him  in 
statuary;  cf.  Hor.  Ep.  2,  i,  239: 
edicto  vetutt^  ne  quis  se  .  .  .  alius 
Lysippo  duceret  a  era ;  Cic.  Ad 
Fam.  5,  1 2,  7  :  Alexander  ille  .  .  . 


potissi)}iu7ii  .  .  .  a  Lysippo  fingi 
volcbat.  — animosa  .  .  .  signa  :  cf. 
2,  31.8. 

10.  exactis:  'perfect.' — Cala- 
mis: a  contemporary  of  Phidias. 
His  subjects  were  general  ;  but 
the  .same  superiority  in  modeling 
horses  that  is  here  emphasized  is 
suggested  by  other  passages ;  cf. 
Ovid,  Ex  P.  4,  I,  33  :  vindicat 
nt  Calamis  laiedem,  quos  fecit, 
equoriim.  —  mihi :  ••  in  my  opinion.' 

11.  Veneris  tabula:  the  cele- 
brated painting  of  the  Venus 
(Aphrodite)  Anadyomene,  often 
referred  to  in  Roman  literature, 
e.g.  Ovid,  Ex  P.  4,  i,  29  :  ut  Venus 
artijicis  labor  est  et  gloria  Coi, 
aequoreo  madidas  quae  premit 
inibrc  comas  ;  Pliny,  A^.  H.  35,91- 

—  summum:  sc.   locittn  from  v.  12. 

—  Apelles  :  grouped  with  Lysippus 
in  Cic.  Ad  Earn.  5,  1 2,  7  (cited  at  v. 
9)  as  the  only  painter  whom  Alex- 
ander the  Great  would  permit  to 
paint  his  portrait.  This  portrait 
brought  the  sum  of  twenty  talents, 
and  was  placed  in  the  temple  of 
Diana  (Artemis)  at  Ephesus. 

12.  Parrhasius :  a  contemporary 
and  rival  of  Zeuxis,  who  flourished 


298 


ELEGIARVM    liber    III 


[9.  19 


argumenta  magis  sunt  Mentoris  addita  formae, 
at  Myos  exiguum  flectit  acanthus  iter, 
15      Phidiacus  signo  se  luppiter  ornat  eburno, 
Praxitelen  propria  vindicat  urbe  lapis. 

est  quibus  Eleae  concurrit  palma  quadrigae, 
est  quibus  in  celeres  gloria  nata  pedes. 

hie  satus  ad  pacem,  hie  castrensibus  utilis  armis. 

16.   propria   0    Paria  Broukhusius  Parius  w   patria  Hertzberg. 


about  400  B.C.  —  parva .  .  .  arte  :  as 
Parrhasius  excelled  in  accurate 
drawing,  correct  proportion,  and 
the  representation  of  fine  shades 
of  expression,  it  seems  best  to  take 
these  words  in  the  sense  of  '  his 
skill  in  details,'  or  '  fine  points  of 
excellence.' 

13.  After  comparing  two  sculp- 
tors of  differing  tastes  and  two 
painters,  Propertius  compares  two 
silver  chasers.  —  argumenta :  '  sub- 


ration,  cf.   Verg.    Georg.   4.    123: 
fleX!     tacuissem     vivien     acanthi. 


jects ' ;  i-e.  the  artistic  conception 
and  arrangement  of  his  groups  or 
scenes.  Cf.  Ovid,  Met.  13,  683  : 
fabricaverat  Alcon  Hyleits,  et 
longo  caelaverat  arginnento.  — 
Mentoris :  cf.  i,  14,  2,  n.  —  formae  : 
'  design.' 

14.  Myos:  Mys,  the  other  to- 
reutic artist,  did  his  greatest  work 
a  generation  after  Phidias,  when 
he  engraved  on  the  inside  of  the 
shield  of  Athene  Promachos  the 
battle  of  the  Centaurs  after  a  de- 
sign of  Parrhasius  (cf-  v.  12)  ;  evi- 
dently he  excelled  in  workmanship 
and  graceful  finish.  —  exiguum: 
probably  the  more  slender,  spiny 
acanthus  was  used  in  such  deco- 


—  iter : 

15.    Phidiacus 


a  cognate  ace 


.    .    luppiter : 

the  most  famous  work  of  Phidias 
was  the  chryselephantine  statue 
of  Zeus  made  for  the  temple  at 
Olympia  about  435  B.C.  Render, 
'  atthe  bidding  of  Phidias,Juppiter,' 
etc. 

16.  Praxitelen:  one  of  the 
greatest  Greek  sculptors,  of  the 
later  Attic  school,  who  flourished 
in  the  fourth  century  B.C. — pro- 
pria .  .  .  urbe  lapis :  Pentelic 
marble,  in  which  he  worked  rather 
than  in  gold  and  ivory,  and  which 
is  abundant  in  Athens.  With  the 
abl.  of  source  some  participle  is 
customary. 

17.  est  quibus  =  trrriv  oTs.  for 
the  regular  Latin,  stint  gitibus  ;  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  i,  i,  3. — Eleae  .  .  . 
quadrigae :  chariot  racing  was  a 
feature  of  the  Olympic  games  after 
680    B.C. — concurrit  =  contingit. 

18.  Propertius  has  turned  the 
thought  inside  out ;  he  means : 
'there  are  others  whose  swift  feet 
are  destined  for  glory.' 

299 


9,  2o]  PROPERTl 

20  naturae  sequitur  semina  quisque  suae, 

at  tua,  Maecenas,  vitae  praecepta  recepi, 

cogor  et  exemplis  te  superare  tuis. 
cum  tibi  Romano  dominas  in  honore  secures 
et  liceat  medio  ponere  iura  foro, 
25      vel  tibi  Medorum  pugnaces  ire  per  hastas 

atque  onerare  tuam  fixa  per  arma  domum, 
et  tibi  ad  effectum  vires  det  Caesar,  et  omni 

tempore  tam  faciles  insinuentur  opes, 
parcis,  et  in  tenues  humilem  te  coUigis  umbras, 
30  velorum.  plenos  subtrahis  ipse  sinus. 

crede  mihi,  magnos  aequabunt  ista  Camillos 
iudicia,  et  venies  tu  quoque  in  ora  virum, 
Caesaris  et  famae  vestigia  iuncta  tenebis : 
Maecenatis  erunt  vera  tropaea  fides. 
35      non  ego  velifera  tumidum  mare  findo  carina: 

25.    hastas  Markland    hostes    0  astus  Lachniann. 

21.  recepi:  <  I  have  adopted  as  29.  parcis:  the  intransitive  use 
my  own.'  isveryrare.  —  tecolligis:  'shrink.' 

22.  exemplis:  Maecenas  re-  30.  subtrahis:  'furl.'  The 
peatedly  decHned  honors.  —  supe-  mere  usual  word  is  conirakere ; 
rare:  'confute.'  cf.  Hor.  Car.  2,  10,  22:  sapiettter 

23.  dominas:  here  used  adjec-  idem  contrahes  vettto  niiniiim  se- 
tivally  :  '  emblems  of  power '  =  '  im-  cundo  turgida  vela. 

perial.' — honore  : 'official  position.'  31.    Camillos:  tradition  attrib- 

—  secures:  those  of  the  lictors.  uted    to    the    famous    M.    Furius 

24.  ponere :    used  by    zeugma.  Camillus  a  contentment  which  be- 
Hor.  Sat.   i,  3,   105  uses  the  ex-  came  proverbial.     Cf.  L.  1105. 
pression /('//^/v  A'.^t'.s-,  as  in  English  32.    iudicia:  cf.  L.  mo. 

we  say  "lay  down  the  law,"    but  33.    famae:  dative  with  z««c/fl. 

dare  leges  is  more  usual.  — tenebis    i.e.  through  all  time. 

26.    Cf.    Tib.    I,    I.    54-  —  per  34.    fides:    to    friends,    partic- 

arma :  poetic  for  armis :  cf.  Ovid,  ularly   to    Augustus,    next   to   his 

Her.   18,  7  :  freta  ventis  tiirbida  poetic  proteges. 
perque  cavas  vix  adeimda  rates.  35.    Cf.  3,  3,  23,  n.  —  findS  is 

28.    insinuentur  =  //;  siitus  ca-  one  of  the  early  examples  of  the 

dant,  i.e.  'pour  into  your  lap.'  shortening  of  the  final  0  which  so 

300 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER  III 


[9.  46 


tuta  sub  exiguo  flumine  nostra  morast. 
non  flebo  in  cineres  arcem  sedisse  paternos 

Cadmi,  nee  septem  proclia  clade  pari, 
nee  referam  Scaeas  et  Pergama  Apollinis  areas, 
40  et  Danaum  deeimo  vere  redisse  rates, 

nioenia  euni  Graio  Neptunia  pressit  aratro 

vietor  Palladiae  iigneus  artis  equus. 
inter  Callimachi  sat  erit  placuisse  libellos 

et  cecinisse  modis,  Coe  poeta,  tuis. 
45      haec  urant  pueros,  haec  urant  scripta  puellas, 

meque  deum  clament  et  mihi  sacra  ferant. 

36.  tuta  (4  tota  0.  44.  Coe  Beroaldus  dure  0  Dore  Scriverius  dare 
Ayrmann  docte  Foster.  Philita  is  accepted  for  poeta  by  Hosiusfrom  an  anony- 
mous source. 


soon  became  general  in  all  verbs. 
Cf.  Intr.  §  43. 

36.  sub  :  '  under  the  protection 
of;  the  poet  is  thinking  of  his 
surroundings  in  the  imagined  pic- 
ture. 

37.  flebo :  'tell  the  harrowing 
tale';  cf.  i,  7,  18. — arcem  .  .  . 
Cadmi:  cf.  i,  7,  i,  n.  —  paternos: 
Propertius  is  ambiguous,  as  often  ; 
he  seems  to  be  referring  to  the 
city-state  of  Thebes,  the  father- 
land, and  trying  to  indicate  its  com- 
plete destruction,  in  which  the  fall 
of  the  citadel  involved  the  whole. 

38.  septem  proelia:  the  war- 
fare waged  by  the  Seven  against 
Thebes;  cf.  H.  &  T.  §  171.— 
clade  pari:  all  the  heroes  (except 
Adrastus)  met  the  same  fate. 
Many  literary  masterpieces  were 
composed  upon  the  legends  of 
Thebes.     As    an    epic    theme   it 


attracted  many;  cf.  i,  7 ;  H.  & 
T.  §  167  ;  the  only  surviving  work 
of  this  nature  is  the  TJiebaid  of 
Statius. 

39.  The  poet  refers  to  the  story 
of  the  Iliad.  —  Scaeas  :  sc.  portas  ; 
the  famous  western  gate  of  Troy, 
where  Homer  represents  Helen 
coming  to  meet  the  oldest  coun- 
cilors of  the  city  (//.  3,  149). — 
Apollinis:  Apollo  and  Neptune 
(Poseidon)  built  the  walls  (cf. 
Neptunia,  v.  41). 

41.  pressit  aratro  :  /^.  the  ulti- 
mate result  to  which  the  ruse  of 
the  wooden  horse  led. 

42.  Palladiae  .  .  .  artis:  'con- 
trived by  Pallas';  gen.  of  the 
author. 

43.    Cf.  3.  I,  I. 

46.  Cf.  Ovid,  Rem.  Am.  813: 
postinodo  reddetis  sacro  pia  vota 
poetae. 


301 


9.  47] 


PROPERTI 


te  duce  vel  lovis  arma  canam  caeloque  minantem 

Coeum  et  Phlegraeis  Oromedonta  iugis, 
celsaque  Romanis  decerpta  Palatia  tauris 
so  ordiar  et  caeso  moenia  firma  Rerao, 

eductosque  pares  silvestri  ex  ubere  reges, 

crescet  et  ingenium  sub  tua  iussa  raeum, 
prosequar  et  currus  utroque  ab  litore  ovantes, 
Parthorum  astutae  tela  remissa  fugae, 
55      castraque  Pelusi  Romano  subruta  ferro, 
Antonique  graves  in  sua  fata  manus. 
mollis  ta  coeptae  fautor  cape  lora  iuventae 

48.    Oromedonta  0  Eurvmedonla  Uiischke. 


47.  te  duce :  the  fair  presump- 
tion is  that  Propertius  suggests  a 
more  aggressive  public  career  for 
his  patron.  —  lovis  arma:  the 
Gigantomachia  is  the  first  possible 
epic  subject  to  be  mentioned. 

48.  Coeum:  a  Titan:  but  the 
distinction  between  Giant  and 
Titan  is  often  overlooked.  —  Phle- 
graeis .  .  .  iugis :  the  place  where 
the  mythical  struggle  occurred  ;  it 
was  localized  sometimes  in  Thrace, 
sometimes  in  Campania.  The 
most  magnificent  representation 
of  the  scene  in  art  vv'as  that  which 
has  been  found  on  the  Zeus  altar 
at  Pergamon. 

49.  Cf.  4.  I,  1-4  :  Tib.  2,  5.  25. 

50.  firma  =  finnata.  —  Remo  : 
tke  abl.  abs.  expresses  means; 
probably  there  was  some  more 
occult  meaning  to  the  tradition, 
perhaps  a  connection  with  such 
human  sacrifices  as  are  believed 
to  have  been  made  in  connection 
with  bridge  building. 


51.  pares  .  .  .  reges :  Romulus 
and  Remus.  —  silvestri  .  .  .  ubere: 
the  famous  bronze  group  in  the 
Capitoline  (Conservatori)  Museum 
followed  the  tradition. 

52.  crescet .  .  .  sub :  '  shall  come 
to  measure  up  to.' 

53.  prosequar:  i.e.  metaphori- 
cally. —  utroque  ab  litore  :  quoted 
from  Verg.  Georg.  3,  33.  The 
reference  is  a  hyperbolical  one 
to  the  shores  of  the  ocean  at  the 
east  and  west  boundaries  of  the 
world. 

54.  Cf.  3,  4,  17,  n. 

55.  Propertius  is  probably  ro- 
mancing here  for  effect.  Pelusium 
surrendered  to  Octavian,  accord* 
ing  to  the  accepted  version  of 
history,  promptly  after  the  appear- 
ance of  the  hero  of  Actium  in  its 
harbor. 

56.  in  sua  fata:  ace.  of  pur- 
pose :  we  should  expect  in  se. 

57.  mollis:  'kindly.'  —  coeptae 
.  .  .  iuventae :  *  my  youthful  under- 


3  OP- 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    III 


[II,   2 


60 


clexteraque  inmissis  da  mihi  signa  rotis. 
hoc  mihi,  Maecenas,  laudis  concedis,  et  a  test 
quod  ferar  in  partes  ipse  fuisse  tuas. 


I  I 

Quid  mirare,  meam  si  versat  femina  vitam 
et  trahit  addictum  sub  sua  iura  virum. 


takings.'  —  fautor:  Maecenas  is 
usually  like  the  partisan  at  the 
races  cheering  on  his  favorite 
team.  But  here  the  poet  suggests 
that  he  come  for  the  nonce  to  the 
chariot  itself,  and  guide  it  where 
it  may  undertake  a  new  course. 

58.  inmissis  .  .  .  rotis :  as  an 
elegiac  poet  Propertius  is  already 
far  on  in  the  race.  —  da  .  .  .  signa  : 
but  as  patron  Maecenas  will  now 
give  the  starter's  signal  for  a  new 
course,  i.e.  in  epic  poetry,  to 
which  he  must,  however,  liave 
himself  conducted  the  poet,  as 
indicated  in  v.  57. 

59.  hoc  .  .  •  laudis:  i.e.  that 
I  look  to  you  for  inspiration  and 
suggestion. 

60.  in  partes  ipse  fuisse  tuas : 
'  that  even  I  have  belonged  to  thy 
followers,'  i.e.  those  recognized 
by  Maecenas.  The  ace.  is  due  to 
the  implied  motion  which  must 
have  preceded  fuisse ;  cf.  Plant. 
Amph.  180:  Jiii  ill  meiitcui  fuit. 

The  good  fortune  of  Rome  in 
escaping  from  the  power  ofa  woman 
through    the    merit    of   Augustus. 


An  elegy  beginning  with  the 
commonplace,  for  our  poet,  of  the 
thralldom  of  woman's  love,  and 
ending  with  the  glories  of  Rome 
and  the  Emperor,  seems  almost 
like  a  playful  supplement  to  3.  9, 
a  hint  of  what  Propertius  might 
do  under  proper  conditions,  in  the 
epic  style. 

1-8:  'Do  you  think  it  strange 
that  I  bow  to  a  woman?  Men 
learn  by  experience  and  so  may 
you.  9-26  :  Remember  the  power 
of  Medea,  Penthesilea,  Omphale, 
Semiramis  !  27-49 :  Yea,  come 
nearer  home,  and  think  of  Cleo- 
patra and  how  great  was  the 
danger  that  she  would  bring 
glorious  Rome  under  the  sway  of 
shameless  Egypt  !  49-72 :  But, 
thanks  to  Augustus,  Rome  was 
spared  such  humiliation  and  the 
gods  still  smile  upon  us  as  of  old. 
So  let  every  sailor  on  the  Ionian 
Sea  give  thanks  to  Augustus  ! ' 

1.  versat:  my  life  is  'at  the 
beck  and  call '  of  a  woman.  Cf. 
Tib.  2,  I.  64.  The  verb  has 
frequentative  force. 

2.  addictum:  an  insolvent 
debtor  was  called  addictus  when 


303 


'^  3J 


PROPERTI 


lo 


15 


criminaque  ignavi  capitis  mihi  turpia  fingis, 

quod  nequeam  fracto  rumpere  vincla  iugo  ? 
venturam  melius  praesagit  navita  noctem, 

vulneribus  didicit  miles  habere  metum. 
ista  ego  praeterita  iactavi  verba  iuventa  : 

tu  nunc  exemplo  disce  timere  meo. 
Colchis  fiagrantis  adamantina  sub  iuga  tauros 

egit  et  armigera  proelia  se^it  humo, 
custodisque  feros  clausit  serpentis  hiatus, 

iret  ut  Aesonias  aurea  lana  domos. 
ausa  ferox  ab  equo  quondam  oppugnare  sagittis 

Maeotis  Danaum  Penthesilea  rates ; 
aurea  cui  postquam  nudavit  cassida  frontem, 

vicit  victorem  Candida  forma  virum. 


he  was  formally  delivered  by  the 
praetor  to  his  creditor  (C.  S.). 
Formal  bondage,  as  compared  with 
informal  slavery  of  v.  i. 

3.    Cf.  I,  12,  I. 

5.  melius:  the  sailor  foretells 
the  promise  of  the  coming  night 
better  than  a  landsman.  The 
poet  justifies  his  own  judgment 
on  love  matters  by  a  comparison 
with  the  sailor  and  soldier  (C  S. ) . 

7.    ista:  'such  as  yours.' 

9.  Colchis:  Propertius  refers  to 
Medea  four  times  by  this  word.  — 
fiagrantis:  'fire-breathing.' 

10.  egit  .  .  .  sevit:  i.e.  she 
made  it  possible  for  Jason  to 
accomplish  these  feats. — armi- 
gera: cf.  H.  &  T.  §§  123,  166. 

11.  serpentis:  the  dragon. 

12.  lana:  this  less  usual  word 
for  '  fleece '  is  used  by  Ovid  also, 
Her.  12,  128;  Fast.  3,  876. 


13.  ferox  belongs  to  the  predi- 
cate.—  ab  equo:   like   the   Greek 

14.  Maeotis :  unusual  employ- 
ment of  the  word  to  imply  the 
region  from  which,  i.e.  the  vicinity 
of  Lake  Maeotis,  the  modern  sea 
of  Azov.  Other  writers  located 
the  Amazons  on  the  Thermodon, 
or  more  vaguely.  —  Penthesilea  : 
the  handsome  daughter  of  Ares 
and  queen  of  the  Amazons,  who 
was  slain  in  battle  by  Achilles. 
Cf.  Verg.  A  en.  i.  491. 

15.  nudavit  cassida :  'the  re- 
moval of  the  helmet  disclosed,' 
by  a  kind  of  brachyology  (C  S.). 
Another  instance  of  this  rare  by- 
form  of  the  nom.  occurs  in  Verg. 
Aen.  II.  775. 

16.  Cf.  Horace's  well-known 
expression  :  Graecia  capta  ferum 
victorem  cepit  {Ep.  2,  i,  156). 


304 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[".  25 


20 


25 


Omphale  in  tantum  formae  processit  honorem, 

Lydia  Gygaeo  tincta  puella  lacu, 
ut,  qui  pacato  statuisset  in  orbe  coluranas, 

tam  dura  traheret  mollia  pensa  manu. 
Persarum  statuit  Babylona  Semiramis  urbem, 

ut  solidum  cocto  tolleret  aggere  opus, 
et  duo  in  adversum  missi  per  moenia  currus 

ne  possent  tacto  stringere  ab  axe  latus, 
duxit  et  Euphratem  medium,  qua  condidit  arces. 


11.    23.    missi  0  mitti  Tyrrell.       24.    ne  DV  nee  NFL. 


17.  Omphale:  note  quantity 
and  hiatus.  Omphale  was  said  to 
be  the  queen  of  Lydia,  and  daugh- 
ter of  King  lardanus.     Cf.  H.  & 

T.  §  145- 

18.  Gygaeo  .  .  .  lacu :  nearSar- 
dis,  named  after  the  well-known 
Lydian  king.  —  tincta  ~  lauta, 
with  an  increment  of  poetic  im- 
agination. Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  3, 
665  :  fliictits  lalera  ardua  tinxit. 
Propertius  means  merely  to  in- 
dicate the  region  from  which  she 
came.  —  puella :  she  was  the  young 
widow  of  Tmolus. 

19.  columnas:  'the  pillars  of 
Hercules,'  on  both  sides  the  fre- 
tum  Herctdeion ;  Abyla  in  Africa, 
and  Calpe  (Gibraltar)  in  Europe, 
said  to  have  been  one  mountain 
till  sundered  by  the  power  of 
Hercules. 

20.  traheret  .  .  .  pensa :  the 
customary  occupation  of  a  female 
slave.     Cf.  Tib.  i,  3,  85-88. 

21.  Persarum:  from  whom  the 


Parthians  got  their  empire ;  but 
Propertius  neglects  any  reference 
to  the  older  empires  under  which 
Babylon  flourished.  —  Semiramis  : 
the  Babylonian  queen  who  was, 
according  to  one  prevalent  tradi- 
tion, the  founder  of  the  city.  Cf. 
Strabo,  16,  i,  2  ;  Ovid,  Met.  4,  58. 

22.  cocto:  'baked,'/.!?,  of  brick. 
—  tolleret:  consecutive. 

23.  Fabulous  accounts  of  the 
walls  of  Babylon  have  survived. 
Herodotus  (i,  178)  says  they  were 
337  feet  high  and  84  feet  wide. 

24.  ne  :  instead  of  the  expected 
completion  of  his  consecutive 
phrase,  Propertius  loosely  tries  to 
combine  a  purpose  and  a  result 
idea  in  the  same  clause.  What 
he  means  is  that  Semiramis  had 
in  mind  a  wall  so  broad  that  two 
chariots  could  pass  without  con- 
tact. Cf.  A.  &  G.  537,  2,  a,  n. — 
tacto  .  .  .  ab  axe :  '  through  the 
grazing  of  a  hub'  (C.  S.)  ;  cf.  3, 
2.  25,  n. 


ROM.  EL.  POETS —  20 


305 


II,    26] 


PROPERTI 


30 


iussit  et  imperio  subdere  Bactra  caput, 
nam  quid  ego  heroas,  quid  raptem  in  crimina  divos  ? 

luppiter  infamat  seque  suamque  domum  : 
quid,  modo  quae  nostris  opprobria  vexerit  armis 

et  famulos  inter  femina  trita  suos 
coniugis  obsceni  pretium  Romana  poposcit 

moenia  et  addictos  in  sua  regna  patres? 
noxia  Alexandria,  dolis  aptissima  tellus, 


27,   crimina  V2  crimine  0.      31.    coniugis  0  coniugii /'ajj^ra/'. 


26.  imperio  subdere  .  .  .  caput : 
•  to  bow  its  head  to  her  sway.' 
While  the  poet  in  leading  up  to 
the  power  of  Cleopatra  apparently 
intends  to  neglect  the  erotic  ele- 
ment in  the  case  of  Semiramis, 
we  must  assume  that  he  probably 
knew,  and  expected  his  readers  to 
know,  the  story  of  the  personal 
charms  of  the  queen,  her  earlier 
marriage  to  Ormes.  a  general  of 
Ninus,  and  the  infatuation  of 
Ninus  himself  for  her,  which  led 
to  the  death  of  Ormes. 

27.  nam  quid :  there  is  an 
ellipsis  :  '  Enough  such  examples. 
Why  need  I  dwell  on  ancient  he- 
roes, or  even  gods,  to  illustrate 
love  and  crime  ?  Jiippiter  himself 
might  furnish  an  instance.  But 
we  have  one  bad  enough  right  at 
home  in  Antony  and  Cleopatra' 
(C.  S.). 

29.  quid  .  .  .  quae :  i-e.  quid 
de  ea  dicam  quae.  —  modo  :  '  but 
yesterday.'  —  opprobria  :  because 
of  the  character  of  the  woman,  as 
well  as  the  very  f;\ct  that  it  was  a 


woman  with  whom  they  were 
matched,  it  was  an  insult  to  the 
Roman  army  to  engage  in  the 
fiasco  at  Actium. 

30.  et  =  etiam.  —  femina  :  scorn- 
ful term.  —  trita :  '  too  familiar.' 
Propertius  regards  Cleopatra 
merely  as  an  abandoned  woman, 
distinguished  from  others  of  her 
cla.ss  only  in  that  she  demanded 
the  empire  as  her  price  (C.  S.). 
He  disdains  to  name  her. 

31.  coniugis  obsceni  :  subj. 
gen.  Propertius,  like  Horace,  is 
ashamed  to  mention  the  name  of 
Antony.  —  pretium:  cf.  Eleg.  in 
Maec.  I.  53  :  hie  modo  miles  erat, 
lie  posset  femina  Romam  dotalem 
stupri  tiDpis  habere  sui. 

33.  noxia  Alexandria  :  the 
poet  apostrophizes  Egypt  through 
her  two  chief  cities,  Memphis  and 
Alexandria,  as  the  bane  of  Rome, 
most  apt  in  treachery,  and  source 
of  bloodshed  and  disgrace  (C.  S.). 
—  dolis  aptissima:  cf.  Bell.  Alex. 
7,  3  :  aptissitnum  esse  hoc  genus  ad 
proditione)n  diibitare  nemo  potest. 


306 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


fn.  39 


et  totiens  nostro  Mem  phi  cruenta  malo, 
35      tres  ubi  Pompeio  dctraxit  harena  triumphos! 

toilet  nulla  dies  banc  tibi,  Roma,  notam. 
issent  Phlegraeo  melius  tibi  funera  campo, 

vel  tua  si  socero  colla  daturus  eras, 
scilicet  incesti  meretrix  regina  Canopi, 


34.  totiens:  in  particular,  in 
the  Alexandrian  war  of  Caesar,  tlie 
various  engagements  during  the 
struggle  of  Octavian  against 
the  power  of  Cleopatra,  and  the 
event  to  which  reference  is  made 
in  V.  35.  —  nostro  .  .  .  malo  :  one 
of  Propertius's  vague  ablatives: 
'  to  our  hurt.' 

35.  tres  .  .  .  triumphos  :  over 
Numidia  (80  B.C.),  Spain  (71 
B.C.),  and  Mithridates  (61  B.C.); 
of.  Cic.  Pro  Sest.  61,  129:  vir  is, 
giii  tripertitas  or  bis  f  err  arum  or  as 
atque  regiones  tribus  triui/iphis 
adiuiictas  huic  imperio  notavit.  — 
ubi :  used  loosely  of  tcllus  in  gen- 
eral.—  detraxit  harena:  Pompey 
was  murdered  in  the  little  boat  in 
which  he  was  proceeding  to  land, 
and  his  corpse  was  left  upon  the 
sandy  beach,  naked  and  headless. 

37.  issent  =  fiiissent :  cf.  Juv. 
7,  29  :  dignus  7'enias  hederis  ;  G^r- 
ma.n  ^' IVie ge/ifs  P'' — Phlegraeo  .  .  . 
campo :  a  willful  or  careless  ambi- 
guity. The  expression  may  refer 
to  Campania,  where  Pompey  was 
dangerously  ill  at  Naples,  in  50  B.C. 
(cf.  Cic.  Thsc.  Disp.  i,  86)  ;  or  to 
Pharsalus,  where  he  was  finally 
defeated  by  Caesar,  in  a  battle 
which   might   be   poetically   com- 


pared to  that  of  the  Giants  on  the 
neighboring  Phlegraean  plains  of 
Macedonia.  The  former  interpre- 
tation seems  to  have  been  accepted 
by  Juvenal  (10,  283  sqq.);  the 
latter,  which  suits  better  the  de- 
velopment of  the  thought  here, 
was  apparently  in  the  mind  of 
Lucan  (7.  144  sqq.  ;  8,  530,  531). 
—  tibi :  Pompey,  though  there  is 
no  new  vocative  to  change  the 
person  addressed  from  that  in  the 
previous  verse  ;  cf.  Tib.  i,  7,  3,  n. 

38.  vel  .  .  .si:  'even  if  = 
'even  though,'  if  the  second  inter- 
pretation of  v.  T^i  is  accepted.  — 
socero  :  Julius  Caesar,  whose 
daughter  Julia  became  Pompey's 
wife  in  59  B.C.  —  daturus  eras: 
i.e.  in  losing  in  the  battle  of  Phar- 
salus, if  we  accept  the  second  inter- 
pretation of  V.  37. 

39.  scilicet :  a  sarcastic  intro- 
duction to  a  most  bitterly  scornful 
passage.  —  incesti  .  .  .  Canopi: 
Canopus,  a  notorious  resort  twelve 
miles  east  of  Alexandria,  was  re- 
puted far  to  outdo  the  excesses  of 
Baiae ;  Juvenal,  who  knew  Egypt 
at  first  hand,  speaks  (15,  46)  of 
fai/ioso  ■  .  ■  Canopo  ;  and  Kavw- 
yStV/ios  became  proverbial.  — 
meretrix    regina:    so  also   Pliny, 


307 


II,  4o] 


PROPERTI 


40  una  Philippeo  sanguine  adusta  nota, 

ausa  lovi  nostro  latrantem  opponere  Anubim, 

et  Tiberim  Nili  cogere  ferre  minas, 
Romanamque  tubam  crepitant!  pellere  sistro, 
baridos  et  contis  rostra  Liburna  sequi, 
45      foedaque  Tarpeio  conopia  tendere  saxo, 
iura  dare  et  statuas  inter  et  arma  Marl. 


N'.  H.  9,  II g.  With  fine  irony 
Cleopatra  is  called  queen  of  Ca- 
nopus,  rather  than  of  Egypt. 

40.  una  :  the  poet  speaks  rela- 
tively rather  than  absolutely.-— 
Philippeo  sanguine :  source,  the 
customary  preposition  being  omit- 
ted. The  Ptolemies  claimed  to 
trace  their  descent  from  Philip  of 
Macedon.  —  nota:  ablative.  No 
infamy  like  Cleopatra's  had  ever 
overtaken  the  Ptolemies. 

41 .  ausa  :  sc.  est.  —  latrantem  : 
the  Egyptian  god  Anubis  was  rep- 
resented with  a  jackal's,  or  dog's, 
head ;  Vergil  (^Ach.  8.  698)  and 
Ovid  {Met-  9,  6go)  use  the  ex- 
pression latrator  Annbis.  The 
inferiority  of  Egypt  to  Rome  is 
implied  in  the  series  of  compar- 
isons:  (i)  great  gods  ;  (2)  local 
river  gods  ;  (3)  army;  (4)  navy; 
(5)  national  character;   (6)  laws. 

42.  Cf.  2,  33.  20 :  cinn  Tiberi 
Nilo  gratia  nulla  fuit. 

43.  crepitanti :  'jingling.'  To 
rouse  them  to  deeds  of  battle  they 
must  rely  on  the  barbarian  sis- 
trum,  a  mere  adjunct  of  their 
characteristic  worship. 

44.  baridos  :  it  was  like  match- 
ing our  canal  boat  with  the  steam 


war  vessel  (C.  S.).  The  /Sapts 
was  a  clumsy  river  transport  pro- 
pelled by  poles  {contis) .  —  Liburna : 
swiftly  moving  galleys  like  those 
used  by  the  Illyrian  pirates.  They 
had  played  an  important  part  in 
the  victory  of  Actium. 

45.  Tarpeio  .  .  .  saxO :  where 
the  heroic  Roman  character  had 
been  so  often  exhibited,  and  death 
scorned.  —  conOpia  :  to  a  Roman 
soldier  mosquito  netting  would  be 
the  extreme  of  effeminacy.  Cf. 
Hor.  Epod.  9,  15  :  interque  signa 
tiD'pe  militaria  sol  adspicit  cono- 
piinn. 

46.  iura  dare  :  what  a  feminine 
regime  like  that  of  Cleopatra  would 
be  at  Rome  is  hinted  from  the 
previous  verse,  and  the  effect  of 
the  imaginary  picture  is  height- 
ened by  the  contrast  with  the 
rule  of  the  most  virile  heroes  in 
Roman  history,  like  Marius.  — 
statuas :  of  the  great  gods  of 
Rome  and  of  famous  Romans. 
They  grew  so  numerous  that  they 
began  to  be  removed  by  the  State 
from  the  Capitol  as  early  as  179 
B.C.,  from  the  Forum  in  158  B.C. 
—  arma  Mari :  the  trophies  that 
Marius    won    from   Jugurtha,  and 


308 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER  III 


C".  54 


quid  nunc  Tarquinii  fractas  iuvat  esse  secures, 
nomine  quern  simili  vita  superba  notat, 

si  mulier  patienda  fuit  ?  cape,  Roma,  triumphum, 
50  et  longum  Augusto  salva  precare  diem. 

fugisti  tamen  in  timidi  vaga  flumina  Nili : 
accepere  tuae  Romula  vincla  manus. 

bracchia  spectavi  sacris  admorsa  colubris, 
et  trahere  occultum  membra  soporis  iter. 

51.   vaga  DV  vada  NFL. 


from  the  Cimbri  and  Teutons,  set 
up  on  the  Capitohne  hill,  were 
torn  down  by  Sulla,  but  restored 
by  Julius  Caesar.  Cf.  Suet.  lul. 
II. 

47.  quid:  ace  of  inner  obj. 
(cognate).  —  nunc:  i.e.  if  such 
conditions  are  to  prevail ;  referring 
to  the  first  clause  in  v.  49.  — 
Tarquinii :  the  last  king  of  Rome. 

—  iuvat :  sc.  Romam.  —  secures  : 
the  sign  of  absolute  power,  per- 
petuated in  the  insignia  of  the 
consuls,  the  fasces. 

48.  nomine :  i.e.  Tarquinius 
Superbus. 

49.  cape:  'rejoice,  O  Rome, 
in  thy  triumph  '  (C.  S.). 

50.  diem  =  vitam. 

51.  The  subject  is  Cleopatra, 
with  another  of  Propertius's  sud- 
den transitions,  and  unannounced. 

—  tamen  :  i.e.  in  spite  of  the  pre- 
sumptuous pride  voiced  in  vv. 
39-46.  —  timidi:  the  epithet  is 
transferred  from  Cleopatra  by 
metaphor  (C.  S.).  The  fleeing 
fleet    is    included    also.  —  vaga : 


'  wandering' 


through    various 


mouths  in  its  course  to  the  sea. 


52.  accepere  .  .  .  manus  :  fig- 
uratively. —  Romula :  this  adjec- 
tive is  used  also  in  4,  4,  26 ;  the 
usual  prose  form  is  Roniulea  = 
Ro)iia)ia  ;  cf  Hor.  Carin.  Saec. 
4"/:  RoiHuIae  ge}iti. 

53.  bracchia:  cf.  Intr.  §  43.  — 
spectavi :  Propertius  doubtless 
saw  in  the  triumphal  procession 
an  effigy  of  Cleopatra  with  the 
asp  that  common  tradition  in  lit- 
erature and  art  has  accepted  as 
the  means  of  her  death,  though 
here,  as  often,  the  tradition  rests 
on  an  uncertain  basis.  Cf.  Hor. 
Car.  I,  37,  26;  Plut.  Ant.  86.  — 
sacris :  i.e.  to  Isis ;  cf.  Ovid, 
Am.  2.  13,  13:  pigraqne  dabatur 
circa  doitaria  serpens  :  Juv.  6,  538  : 
et  niovissc  caput  visa  est  argetitea 
serpens. 

54.  Propertius  mixes  his  meta- 
phors, the  last  sleep,  and  that 
journey  from  which  there  is  no  re- 
turn. The  frame  drinks  in  the 
poison  wliich  causes  the  queen  to 
start  on  the  journey  to  the  world 
of  the  dead.  Only  Propertius 
would  dare  to  speak  of  '  draining 
a  draught  of  journey  ! ' 

309 


".  55J 


PROPERTI 


55      'non  hoc,  Roma,  fui  tanto  tibi  cive  verenda' 
dixit  'et  adsiduo  lingua  sepulta  mere' 
septem  urbs  alta  iugis,  toto  quae  praesidet  orbi, 

femineas  timuit  territa  Marte  minas. 
Hannibalis  spolia  et  victi  monimenta  Syphacis 
60  et  Pyrrhi  ad  nostros  gloria  fracta  pedes ! 

Curtius  expletis  statuit  monimenta  lacunis, 

at  Decius  misso  proelia  rupit  equo, 
Coclitis  abscissos  testatur  semita  pontes, 
est  cui  cognomen  corvus  habere  dedit. 

55.    fui  w  fuit  0. 


55.  hoc  .  .  .  tanto  .  .  .  cive : 
Augustus  is  complimented  by  being 
referred  to  under  his  favorite  title 
oi  Princeps.  The  abl.  abs.  is 
equivalent  to  a  clause  of  proviso- 
—  fui:  Cleopatra  is  speaking. 

56.  Sc.  non  fiat  verenda  with 
lingua^  referring  to  Antony. 

57.  toto:  cf.  2,  I,  47  {jino)\ 
Tib.  4,  6,  9,  n. 

58.  Marte  =  bello. 

59.  The  general  sense  of  this 
fine  outburst  is  that  in  Augustus 
Rome  had  a  hero  far  greater  than 
in  all  her  past  history,  and  pos- 
sessing him  she  scarcely  need  fear 
Jove  himself  (C.  S.),  much  less  a 
woman.  The  glory  of  defeating 
Hannibal,  Syphax  (a  Numidian 
king  who  helped  Hannibal),  and 
Pyrrhus.  as  representing  masculine 
warriors  from  Greece  and  Africa, 
the  countries  that  Cleopatra  repre- 
sented, is  appropriately  contrasted 
here  with  the  terrorizing  influence 
she  had  over  Rome,  expressed  in 
V.    58.      The    animadversions    of 


the  critics  and  the  transpositions 
by  the  editors  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  poem  are  incomprehensible. 
Cf.  Vahlen,  Ind.  Lect.  1886-87, 
Berlin. 

61.  Here  follow  instances  of 
self-sacrificing  heroism  to  save  the 
State  in  earlier  days. — Curtius: 
the  story  is  told  in  Livy,  7,  6.  — 
monimenta  :  such  word  repetitions 
are  not  uncommon  in  the  Roman 
elegy;  cf.  vv.  16,  17;  19,  21  ;  36, 
40 ;  Vahlen,  I.e. 

62.  at :  the  method  of  Decius 
was  a  different  one  ;  see  Livy,  8,  9  ; 
10,  28  ;  Cic.  Titsc.  Disp.  i,  37,  89. 

63.  Coclitis :  Horatius  Codes, 
the  hero  of  the  bridge  ;  cf.  Livy,  2, 
10.  —  semita  :  the  location  of  the 
street  named  after  Horatius  is  not 
known. 

64.  est  cui:  M.  Valerius  Cor- 
vus ;  see  Livy,  7.  26.  —  habere  = 
habendain  ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  5,  260: 
loricai>i  qnam  Demoleo  detraxerat 
ipse  victor  .  .  .  donat  habere  viro ; 
R.  1363. 


10 


ELKHIARVM    LIBER    Til 


[II,  72 


65       haec  di  condiderant,  haec  di  quoque  moenia  servant; 
vix  timeat  salvo  Caesare  Roma  lovem. 
nunc  ubi  Scipiadae  classes,  ubi  signa  Camilli, 

aut  modo  Pompeia  Bospore  capta  manu  ? 
Leucadius  versas  acies  memorabit  Apollo. 
70  tantum  operis  belli  sustulit  una  dies. 

at  tu,  sive  petes  portus  seu,  navita,  linques, 
Caesaris  in  toto  sis  memor  lonio. 


65.  condiderant :  even  before 
these  heroic  deeds  the  gods  had 
established  Rome. 

66.  salvo  Caesare :  the  con- 
struction is  a  repetition  of  hoc 
tanto  .  .  .  cive  (v.  55).  The 
thought  of  the  verse  is  contrasted 
with  that  of  V.  58. 

67.  nunc  ubi :  i-c.  in  compari- 
son with  the  glorious  victory  of 
Augustus  at  Actium.  —  Scipiadae  : 
the  regular  patronymic  formation 
in  this  family.  — classes:  the  fa- 
mous fleet  prepared  in  45  days  in 
205  15. c.  to  bring  the  second  Punic 
war  to  a  close.  The  plural,  like 
pontes,  in  v.  63,  is  purely  rhetorical. 
Cf.  L.  mo.  — signa  Camilli :  taken 
from  the  Gauls  in  390  B.C.  ;  cf. 
Livy,  5,  49,  7  :  dictator  .  .  .  tri- 
umphans  in  Jirbein  rediit ;  Verg. 
A  en.  6,  825  :  referent  em  signa 
Camillnin. 

68.  modo  :  '  but  recently/  con- 
trasted with  the  other  great  Roman 
victories    mentioned.  —  Bospore  : 


vocative.  It  was  from  Pantica- 
paeum  on  the  Cimmerian  Bosporus, 
which  Pliny  {N.  H.  4,  78)  calls 
the  edge  of  Europe,  that  the  body 
of  the  dead  Mithridates  was  sent  to 
Pompey  at  Amisus ;  but  Proper- 
tius  flatters  the  memory  of  Pompey 
by  intimating  that  the  latter  con- 
quered a  region  that  he  probably 
never  saw. 

69.  Leucadius  .  .  .  Apollo :  the 
celebrated  temple  of  Apollo  on 
the  north  promontory  of  the  island 
of  Leucas  looked  down  upon  the 
battle  of  Actium.  The  Leucadian 
Apollo  was  frequently  invoked 
by  sailors.  —  versas  acies  :  cf  Hor. 
Epod.  9,  17-20. 

70.  tantum  operis  belli :  i.e. 
the  fleet  of  Cleopatra.  —  una  dies : 
that  of  the  battle  of  Actium. 

72.  Augustus  has  cleared  the 
seas  of  all  the  enemies  of  Rome, 
including  pirates.  Cf.  Hor.  Car. 
4,  5,  19:  pacatum  volitant  per 
mare  navitae. 


311 


«6,  I] 


PROPERTI 


lo 


i6 

Nox  media,  et  dominae  mihi  venit  epistula  nostrae : 

Tibure  me  missa  iussit  adesse  mora, 
Candida  qua  geminas  ostendunt  culmina  turres 

et  cadit  in  patulos  lympha  Aniena  lacus. 
quid  faciam?     obductis  committam  mene  tenebris, 

ut  timeam  audaces  in  mea  membra  manus  ? 
at  si  distulero  haec  nostro  mandata  timore, 

nocturno  fletus  saevior  hoste  mihi. 
peccaram  semel,  et  totum  sum  pulsus  in  annum: 

in  me  mansuetas  non  habet  ilia  manus. 

16.   9.   pulsus  FLDV  portus  N  postus  Phillimore  tortus   Gwynn. 


3,   16 

i-io:  'A  summons  from  Cyn- 
thia at  midnight  to  come  to  Tibur 
at  once  !  Which  alternative  is  to 
be  accepted  —  to  risk  the  perils  of 
the  journey,  or  to  risk  her  dis- 
pleasure? 11-20:  But  all  the 
world  loves  a  lover,  and  I  shall  be 
safe;  21-30:  even  if  I  die  in  the 
attempt,  it  will  be  worth  while ; 
she  will  honor  my  tomb  —  and 
may  it  be  "far  from  the  madding 
crowd!"' 

2.  Tibure:  locative.  Cynthia 
probably  spent  a  considerable 
part  of  her  time  in  this  beautiful 
and  popular  suburban  resort  (cf. 
2,  32,  5),  and  was  buried  there  (4, 
7,  81-86).  Cf.  Lanciani,  IVan- 
derings  hi  the  Roman  Campagna, 
pp.  88  sqq. 

3.  Candida  .  .  .  culmina:  hill- 
tops on  either  side  the  Anio  covered 


with  villas  and  temples  which  would 
glisten  in  the  moonlight  as  well  as 
in  the  sunshine. — geminas  .  .  . 
turres  :  high  buildings  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  river.  Cf.  Tib.  i,  7, 
19. 

4.  On  these  famous  falls  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  i,  7, 12  :  domus  Albuneae 
resonantis  et  praeceps  Anio  ac 
Tibur ni  Incus  et  uda  niobilibus 
poinaria  rivis. 

5.  ohdiuctis-  ?'C.  caelo  or  terrae. 
—  mene:  for  a  similar  position  of 
the  interrogative  particle,  cf.  3,  6, 
1 2  :  ornabat  tiiveas  nullane genitna 
manus  ? 

6.  audaces  in  mea  membra  :  for 
the  dangers  from  highway  robbers, 
cf.  Juv.  3,  302-308;   10,  20-21. 

9.  Cf.  Intr.  §33. 

10.  in  me :  cf.  in  mea  membra 
(v.  6). — mansuetas  non  .  .  . 
manus  :  the  phrase  justifies  the  ex- 
pression pulsus  in  v.  9. 


312 


ELEGIARVM  LIEER   III 


[i6,  23 


'5 


nee  tamen  est  quisquam,  sacros  qui  laedat  amantes 

Scironis  media  sic  licet  ire  via. 
quisquis  amator  erit,  Scythicis  licet  ambulet  oris  : 

nemo  adeo  ut  noceat  barbarus  esse  volet, 
luna  ministrat  iter,  demonstrant  astra  salebras, 

ipse  Amor  accensas  percutit  ante  faces, 
saeva  canum  rabies  morsus  avertit  hiantis  : 

huic  generi  quovis  tempore  tuta  viast. 
sanguine  tarn  parvo  quis  enim  spargatur  amantis 

inprobus  ?     exclusis  fit  comes  ipsa  Venus, 
quod  si  certa  meos  sequerentur  funera  casus, 

talis  mors  pretio  vel  sit  emenda  mihi. 
adferet  haec  unguenta  mihi  sertisque  sepulcrum 


16.    percutit  0  praecutit  Guyetus.     22.   talis  0  tali  V2.     23.    haec  Guyetus 
hue  0. 


20 


11.  nee  tamen  est:  'and,  after 
all,  there  isn't.'  For  the  sentiment, 
cf.  2,  26,  45  sqq.;  Tib.  I,  2,  27: 
qiiisqjiis  atjiore  tenetiit\  eat  tii- 
tusqtie  sacerque  qiialibet:  insidias 
no7i  titmiisse  decet. 

12.  Scironis  :  Sciron  was  a  fa- 
mous robber  who  haunted  the  road 
leading  from  the  isthmus  into 
Megaraand  Attica.  He  was  slain 
by  Theseus  (C.  S  ). 

13.  This  couplet,  with  unim- 
portant variations,  was  found 
scratched  upon  the  wall  of  the 
basilica  in  Pompeii;  cf.  C I L.  \, 
1950. 

16.  ipse  Amor  :  Cupid  in  person 
performs  the  duty  of  the  slave  that 
lights  the  way.  —  accensas  per- 
cutit :  '  kindles  up  and  bran- 
dishes ' ;  percutit  is  here  an  inten- 
sive form  of  quatit. 


17.  saeva  canum  rabies  .  .  . 
avertit  =  canes  saevirabiosique  .  .  . 
avertunt.  —  morsus  :  i.e.  os  inor- 
deiis. 

18.  huic  generi :  lovers  (C.  S.). 

19.  The  masks  of  lovers  were 
conventionally  pale,  indicating  a 
traditional  belief  that  their  blood 
was  thin  or  scanty. 

20.  exclusis  .  .  .  ipsa :  even 
Vi'hen  the  lover  is  unlucky  enough 
to  be  denied  admission  to  his  be- 
loved, Venus  watches  over  him  ; 
much  more,  it  is  implied,  when  he 
is  on  his  way  to  an  expectant  mis- 
tress. 

23.  haec  :  as  usual,  the  one  and 
only  'she'  for  Propertius. — un- 
guenta :  cf.  2,  13,  30.  —  sertisque 
.  .  .  ornabit :  cf.  i,  17,  22.  There 
was  a  special  day  for  such  decora- 
tion, known  as  7-osales  escae. 


Si3 


1 6,  24] 


PROPERTI 


25 


30 


ornabit  custos  ad  mea  busta  sedens. 
di  faciant,  mea  ne  terra  locet  ossa  frequenti, 

qua  facit  adsiduo  tramite  vulgus  iter, 
post  mortem  tumuli  sic  infamantur  amantum. 

me  tegat  arborea  devia  terra  coma, 
aut  humer  ignotae  cumulis  vallatus  harenae. 

non  iuvat  in  media  nomen  habere  via. 


18 

Clausus  ab  umbroso  qua  ludit  pontus  Averno, 
fumida  Baiarum  stagna  tepentis  aquae, 

18.    2.    fumida  Scaliger  humida  0. 


25.  Lygdamus's  wish  was  just 
the  opposite:  cf.  Tib.  3,  2,  29,  n. 
And  Cynthia's  tomb  is  represented 
as  beside  a  road,  the  favorite  cus- 
tom in  Roman  sepulture. 

28.  arborea  .  .  •  coma  can  well 
be  taken  as  a  descriptive  ablative 
with  terra :  cf.  also  2,  13,  33. 

29.  Rather  than  lie  in  a  public 
place  he  would  prefer  to  be  cast 
on  an  unknown  shore,  like  Paetus 
(3»  7,  26). 

3'  ^8 

The  deatli  of  M.  Claudius  Mar- 
cellus,  son  of  Octavia.  the  sister  of 
Augustus,  at  Baiae  in  23  B.C.,  in 
the  twentieth  year  of  his  age,  dis- 
appointed many  hopes.  By  his 
marriage  in  25  B.C.  to  his  cousin 
Julia,  the  daughter  of  Augustus,  he 
had  become  the  heir  apparent,  and 
as  such  was  very  acceptable  to  the 
Romans.  Vergil  immortalized  his 
memory  in  the  famous  verses  Aoi. 


6,  860-886,  at  the  recited  of  which 
Octavia  is  said  to  have  swooned. 
Propertius,  however,  takes  pains 
not  to  mention  the  name  of  Mar- 
cellus  anywhere.  The  elegy  was 
evidently  written  soon  after  the 
event. 

i-io:  'In  Baiae,  home  of  myths 
and  marvels,  he  is  dead.  11-16: 
Yes,  dead  !  in  spite  of  all  he  had 
to  live  for;  17-30:  wealth  and 
fame  save  none  from  death  —  wit- 
ness kings  and  heroes  of  old ; 
31-34:  but  while  Marcellus  "  goes 
the  way  of  all  the  earth,"  it  is  for 
him  a  gathering  to  the  gods.' 

1.  Clausus:  i.e.  by  the  narrow 
strip  referred  to  in  v.  4.  — umbroso 
.  .  .  Averno:  cf.  Verg.  Ac/i.  3, 
442  :  divinosque  laciis  et  Averna 
sonatttia  sih'is ;  6,  136-139;  238- 
242.  — pontus  :  the  bay  of  Baiae. 

2.  fumida  .  .  .  stagna :  in  ap- 
position with  pontus.  —  tepentis 
aquae  :  the  hot  springs  of  this  vol- 


3H 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[i8,  9 


qua  iacet  et  Troiae  tubicen  Misenus  arena, 
et  sonat  Herculeo  structa  labore  via, 

hie  ubi,  mortales  dexter  cum  quaereret  urbes, 
cymbala  Thebano  concrepuere  deo, 

(at  nunc,  invisae  magno  cum  crimine  Baiae, 
quis  deus  in  vestra  constitit  hostis  aqua  ?) 

his  pressus  Stygias  vultura  demisit  in  undas, 

5.    mortales  N  mortalis  FLDV.     dexter  NFL  dextra  DV. 


canic  region  appear  not  only  on 
land  but  also  here  and  there  in  the 
bay. 

3.  iacet  .  .  .  arena :  cf.  Verg. 
Aen.  6,  162:  Misenuin  in  litore 
sicca.  The  remarkable  promon- 
tory at*  the  outer  western  limit  of 
the  bay  of  Baiae  was  traditionally 
the  tomb  of  the  drowned  Misenus, 
and  is  still  called  by  his  name, 
Capo  di  Miseno. 

4.  sonat:  i.e.  from  the  surf.  — 
Herculeo  structa  labore  via :  this 
was  a  narrow  strip  of  sand  just 
wide  enough  for  a  carriage  road 
separating  the  bay  from  the  Lu- 
crine  Lake.  The  myth  attributed 
its  construction  to  Hercules  (C.  S.). 
Cf .  I ,  II,  2  :  qua  iacet  Herculeis 
semita  litoj'ibiis. 

5.  hie:  adverb.  —  mortales  per- 
haps merely  =  jnortaliii/ii  here  by 
contrast  to  deo  in  the  next  verse ; 
but  it  is  possible  that  the  poet 
meant  to  emphasize  the  perishable 
nature  of  the  cities,  as  well  as  of 
their  inhabitants  in  this  vicinity  ; 
as  this  would  be  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  this  passage,  and 
with  history  both  before  and  after 
he  penned  these  words.     For  the 


cities  of  these  campi  phlegraeih2i6. 
been  devastated  by  early  wars, 
and  were  ever  in  danger  of  earth- 
quake or  volcanic  cataclysm. — 
dexter  .  .  .  quaereret :  '  visited  with 
beneficent  intent,'  i.e.  in  introduc- 
ing the  vine  which  flourishes  es- 
pecially in  Campania.  The  west- 
ern progress  of  Dionysus  is  less 
celebrated  than  that  in  the  east ; 
cf..  however,  Sil.  Ital.  3,  loi  :  tetn- 
pore  quo  Bacchus  populos  doniita- 
bat  H iter  OS. 

6.  Thebano  .  .  .  deo  :  Bacchus, 
who,  according  to  the  prevailing 
tradition,  was  born  in  Thebes  ;  so, 
too,  was  Hercules. — concrepuere: 
cf.  Lucian,  Bacch.  4;  Cat.  64, 
262.  Bacchus  follows  Hercules 
similarly  in  Verg.  Aen.  6,  801-807. 

7.  invisae  .  .  .  Baiae  :  vocative. 
—  crimine  :  the  charge  was  that  of 
responsibility  for  the  death  of 
Marcellus. 

8.  hostis  belongs  to  the  predi- 
cate, and  is  contrasted  with  the 
previously  mentioned  kindly  visits 
of  Hercules  and  Bacchus. 

g.  his :  one  of  the  vague  abla- 
tives of  Propertius  referring  ap- 
parently  to  Baiae  and  its  malign 

15 


i8,  lo] 


PROPERTI 


lo 


15 


errat  et  in  vestro  spiritus  ille  lacu. 
quid  genus  aut  virtus  aut  optima  profuit  illi 

mater,  et  amplexum  Caesaris  esse  focos, 
aut  modo  tarn  pleno  fluitantia  vela  theatro, 

et  per  maternas  omnia  gesta  manus  ? 
occidit,  et  misero  steterat  vigesimus  annus  : 

tot  bona  tarn  parvo  clausit  in  orbe  dies. 
i  nunc,  tolle  animos  et  tecum  finge  triumphos, 


influence,  yet  possibly  to  i/ndas.  — 
pressus  :  'overwhelmed.''  The  lan- 
guage of  this  verse  would  apply  to 
drowning,  malarial  fever,  sulphur- 


ous  gases,   or  any 


other   of  the 


deadly  ills  which  may  have  caused 
the  demise  of  the  young  man. 
Perhaps  Propertius  is  intentionally 
vague,  in  view  of  the  conflicting 
rumors  at  that  time  as  to  the  cause 
of  his  death. 

10.  errat  .  .  .  spiritus  ille :  'he 
flits  a  spirit '  (C.  S.).  This  use  of 
spiritus  is  very  rare  till  later  Latin. 
—  vestro :  i-e.  of  Baiae. 

11.  quid  .  .  .  profuit:  cf.  4,  11, 
II.  —  genus:  for  the  fame  of  the 
Claudian  family  cf.  v.  33. 

12.  mater:  Octavia  retired 
henceforth  to  private  life.  —  Cae- 
saris .  .  .  focos  :  Marcellus  became 
not  only  the  son-in-law  of  Augus- 
tus, but  his  son  by  formal  adop- 
tion. 

13.  modo  :  '  but  yesterday.'  — 
vela:  the  awnings  stretched  over 
the  theater  by  Marcellus  at  the 
shows  he  gave  as  Curule  Aedile  in 
the  year  of  his  death.  He  even 
stretched  awnings  over  the  Forum. 


Cf.  Pliny,  N.  H.  19,  24.  The  word 
gives  one  illustration  of  the  lavish- 
ness  with  which  he  performed  his 
official  duties.     Cf.  also  4,  i,  15. 

14.  omnia  perhaps  includes  all 
that  Octavia  did  for  her  son  before 
and  after  his  death.  Plutarch 
says  she  built  the  library  in  the 
Porticus  Octaviae  as  a  memorial  to 
him. 

15.  'And  for  the  unfortunate 
youth  his  twentieth  year  suddenly 
stood  stiir  (C.  S.)  ;  i.e.  the  pas- 
sage of  the  year  is  thought  of  as 
like  that  of  the  sun  or  the  moon, 
which  should  halt  in  the  midst  of 
its  course.  The  tense  is  the  famil- 
iar Propertian  pluperfect. 

16.  dies  :  'his  brief  day' (C.  S.). 

17.  Cf.  3,  7.  29;  Ovid,  Her.  9, 
105  :  /  nunc,  tolle  animos  et  fortia 

gesta  rece7ise.  The  pointing  in 
this  passage  of  the  familiar  moral 
that  death  is  inevitable  and  im- 
partial gives  opportunity  to  com- 
pare the  manner  of  Propertius 
with  that  of  his  contemporary 
Horace  in  such  passages  as  Car. 
I.  4,  13-20;  I,  28,  7-16;  4,  7, 
14-28. 

16 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   III 


[18,  30 


20 


25 


30 


stantiaque  in  plausum  tota  theatra  iuvent, 
Attalicas  supera  vestes,  atque  omnia  magnis 

gemmea  sint  ludis  :  ignibus  ista  dabis. 
sed  tamen  hue  omnes,  hue  primus  et  ultimus  ordo : 

est  malarsed  cunetis  ista  terenda  viast : 
exoranda  eanis  tria  sunt  latrantia  colla, 

seandenda  est  torvi  pubUea  eymba  senis. 
ille  lieet  ferro  cautus  se  condat  et  aere : 

mors  tamen  inclusum  protrahit  inde  caput. 
Nirea  non  facies,  non  vis  exemit  Achillem, 
-      Croesum  aut  Pactoli  quas  parit  uraor  opes, 
hie  olim  ignaros  luctus  populavit  Achivos,     '' 

Atridae  magno  cum  stetit  alter  amor. 


21.    hue  .  .  .  hue   Beroaldiis  hoc  .  .  .  hue    0  hoc  .  .  .  hoc    Lachmann. 


18.  Cf.  Ovid,  Ex  Pont.  2,  6, 
28  :  i)i  quorum plausiis  tota  theatra 
sonant.  For  instances  of  such  ap- 
plause cf.  Cic.  Ad  Att.  2,  19,  3; 
Hor.  Car.  i,  20,  3-8. 

19.  Attalicas:  cf.  2,  13,  22.  n. 
—  magnis :  probably  not  to  be 
taken  in  the  technical  sense  (=  Ro- 
fnanis),  but  in  general. 

20.  gemmea :  a  mere  hyper- 
bole. —  ignibus  =  rogo. 

21.  hue:  sc.  tendimus  (C.  S.). 
Cf.  Ovid,  Met.  10,  34:  tendimus 
hue  omnes,  haec  est  damns  ultima. 

22.  Cf.  2.  30,  14:  nos  modo 
propositum,  vita,  teramtis  iter. 

23.  canis :  Cerberus  is  men- 
tioned four  times  by  Propertius ; 
cf.  e.g.  4,  II,  25.  Note  the  hypal- 
lage. 

24.  publica  :  '  that  ferries  all ' 
(C.  S.).  —  senis:  Propertius  does 


not  mention  Charon  by  name ;  cf. 
V.  31  ;  4,  II,  7. 

25.  ille:  the  man  trying  to  es- 
cape death,  referred  to  in  the  next 
verse  under  the  term  inclusum  ca- 
put. 

27.  Nirea  :  the  handsomest  but 
one  of  all  the  Greeks  at  the  siege 
of  Troy.    Cf.  Horn. //.  2.  673-674. 

28.  Pactoli  .  .  .  umor:  cf.  1,6, 
32,  nn. 

29.  hie  .  .  .  luctus :  i.e.  the 
sorrows  of  inevitable  death 
(C.  S.).  —  ignaros:  'unconscious 
of  the  cause  of  their  trouble ' 
(C.  S.).  Men  are  only  in  modern 
times  beginning  to  understand 
the  causes  of  pestilence ;  the 
Greeks  before  Troy  could  only 
ascribe  it  to  the  wrath  of  Apollo. 

30.  An  excellent  example  of 
Propertian     ambiguity:     Atridae 


317 


18,  30 


PROPERTI 


at  tibi,  nauta,  pias  hominum  qui  traicis  umbras, 
hue  animae  portent  eorpus  inane  tuae : 

qua  Siculae  victor  telluris  Claudius  et  qua 
Caesar,  ab  humana  cessit  in  astra  via. 


21 


Magnum  iter  ad  doctas  proficisci  cogor  Athenas, 
ut  me  longa  gravi  solvat  amore  via. 

32.    tuae  0  suae  Markland. 


may  be  either  gen.  or  dat. ;  /nagno, 
dat.  or  abl.  (of  price)  ;  stetit  may 
=  erat  or  mean  '  cost '  (with 
magna)  ;  and  alter  a»tor  may 
refer  to  Chryseis  or  Briseis,  accord- 
ing as  the  primus  amor  is  sup- 
posed to  be  Clytemnaestra,  Argyn- 
nus,  or  Chryseis. 

31.  nauta :  cf.  v.  24.  n. 

32.  hue :  i.e.  to  the  place  of 
entombment,  which  is  at  the  same 
time  that  of  departure  for  the  other 
world.  —  animae  .  .  .  corpus  inane  : 
cf.  Ovid,  Met.  13.  488:  quae  cor- 
pus conplexa  ani)iiae  tain  fortis 
inatte.  —  tuae  :  'for  which  it  is  thy 
special  function  to  care';  usually; 
in  this  case,  the  poet  goes  on  to 
explain,  Charon  has  no  duty  to 
perform,  as  the  soul  itself  has  been 
translated  among  the  celestials ; 
animae  is  thus  gen.  Those  who 
prefer  to  take  animae  .  .  .  tuae 
as  nom.  explain  the  meaning 
as  =  flabra,  the  unseen  messen- 
gers that  waft  the  soul  to  Charon, 
the  word  being  used  as  in  Hor. 
Car.  4,   12,  2:    inpellunt  animae 


lintea  Thraciae.  In  this  case 
corpus  =  manes  by  a  common 
confusion  in  Propertius ;  cf.  e.g. 
2,  I3>  32- 

33.  qua:  of  the  route  by  which. 
—  Claudius:  M.  Claudius  Marcel- 
lus,  the  most  illustrious  of  his 
direct  ancestors,  five  times  consul, 
and  the  conqueror  of  Syracuse  in 
212  B  c.  It  would  have  been 
highly  inappropriate  to  deify  Cae- 
sar and  the  3'oung  Marcellus,  and 
omit  his  famous  progenitor  ! 

34.  Caesar  :  his  grandfather  by 
adoption,  ^-humana  .  .  .  via: 
that  via  teti,  which  by  all  calcanda 
semel  {Hor.  Car.  i,  28,  16). 

3?       21 

The  poet,  in  desperate  anxiety 
to  rid  himself  of  his  love  for  Cyn- 
thia, proposes  to  leave  Rome  and 
take  up  his  abode  in  Athens. 
There  is  no  proof  that  the  plan 
was  ever  carried  out;  cf.  I.  17, 
Intr.  Catullus,  when  in  a  :im- 
ilar  state  of  mind  (No.  76).  pro- 
poses only  to  conquer  his  passion 


318 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[21,  12 


10 


crescit  enim  adsidue  spectando  cura  puellae : 

ipse  alimenta  sibi  maxima  praebet  amor, 
omnia  sunt  temptata  mihi,  quacumque  fugari 

possit :  at  ex  omni  me  premit  iste  deus.        t- 
vix  tamen  aut  semel  admittit,  cum  saepe  negarit 

sen  venit,  extreme  dormit  amicta  toro. 
unum  erit  auxilium  :  mutatis  Cynthia  terris 

quantum  oculis,  animo  tam  procul  ibit  amor, 
nunc  agite,  o  socii,  propellite  in  aequora  navem, 

remorumque  pares  ducite  sorte  vices, 


21.    6.   iste     w    ille    DV     ipse    NFL. 
II.    aequora  F  aequore  NLDV. 


8.   amicta     Scaliger    arnica    0. 


on  the  ground,  instead  of  running 
away. 

i-io  :  *  I  must  get  out  of  sight 
of  Cynthia ;  and  away  from  the 
tortures  she  inflicts  on  me.  11- 
30  :  I  will  sail  away  to  Athens  and 
engross  myself  in  new  studies  and 
other  interests;  31-34:  thus  I 
shall  be  cured  of  my  passion,  or 
die  an  honorable  death.'' 

I.  doctas :  cf.  I,  6,  13,  n. — 
cogor :  an  intense  expression  fre- 
quent in  Propertius  ;  cf.  i,  I,  8  ;  i, 
16,  13,  etc.;  Intr.  §35. 

3.  crescit  .  .  .  spectando :  cf. 
Cat.  51,  6:  na}n  simid  te,  Lesbia, 
adspexi,  iii/iil  est  supo-  t/ii ; 
Shakespeare,  Sonnets,  75  :  '*  Some- 
time, all  full  with  feasting  on  your 
sight,  And  by  and  by  clean 
starved  for  a  look." —  cura  =  amor, 
as  in  2,  12,  4. 

5.  mihi:  A.  375. — quacumque 
.  .  .  possit :  the  poet's  thought 
runs  faster  than  his  language,  so 


that  he  combines  the  question 
of  manner  of  conquering  {qua  .  .  . 
possit)  with  the  resolve  to  con- 
quer, no  matter  how  {qnaaiinque 
.  .  .  possit  .  .  .  fitgandus').  Ca- 
tullus emphasizes  the  second  part 
of  the  thought  in  76,  14-16,  where 
qua  =  quacumque. 

6.  ex  omni :  ?,c.  parte.  Cf.  Ovid, 
Rem.  Am.  358:  ex  omni  est  parte 
fugandus  amor.  —  premit:  cf  I, 
I,  4;  I,  g,  24;  Ovid  Retn.  Am. 
530  :  saez'ns  Amor  sub  pede  colla 
premit. 

7.  admittit :  Propertius  takes 
it  for  granted  that  the  reader 
knows  the  subject.    Cf.  3,  16,  23,  n. 

11.  propellite:  -launch.' 

12.  pares:  'pair  by  pair,'  that 
the  rowing  may  be  well  balanced. 
—  sorte  :  cf  Verg.  Aen.  3,  5 10  :  sor- 
titi  remos,  upon  which  Servius 
comments:  sortiti, per  sortem  di- 
visi  ad  officia  remigandi,  qjii  esset 
proreta,  qnis  pedem  teneret. 


319 


21,    13] 


PROPERTI 


IS 


20 


iungiteque  extremo  felicia  lintea  malo  : 

iam  liquidum  nautis  aura  secundat  iter. 
Romanae  turres  et  vos  valeatis  amici, 

qualiscumque  mihi  tuque  puella  vale.  ' 

ergo  ego  nunc  rudis  Adriaci  vehar  aequoris  hospes, 

cogar  et  undisonos  nunc  prece  adire  deos 
deinde  per  Ionium  vectus  cum  fessa  Lechaeo 

sedarit  placida  vela  phaselus  aqua, 
quod  superest,  sufferre,  pedes,  properate  laborem, 

Isthmos  qua  terris  arcet  utrumque  mare.    ^ 
inde  ubi  Piraei  capient  me  litora  portus, 

scandam  ego  Theseae  bracchia  longa  viae. 


I   CK>A^ 


14.  secundat:  cf.  Ovid.  Ner. 
13,  136:  blandaqne  coiipositas 
aura  secundet  aquas. 

15.  turres:    cf.  Tib.  i,  7,  19.  n. 

16.  qualiscumque  mihi :  '  un- 
kind as  you  have  been  to  me';  cf. 
3,  I,  30.  — tuque  :  on  the  position 
of  the  conjunction,  cf.   Intr.  §  28. 

17.  rudis  .  .  .  hospes  :  this  is 
to  be  the  poet's  first  voyage  on 
the  Adriatic. 

18.  undisonos:  Propertius  here 
apparently  tried  his  hand  at  a 
kind  of  picturesque  epithet  more 
commonly  met  in  Catullus  and 
Lucretius. 

19.  fessa  :  cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  45. 
—  Lechaeo:  sc.  Diari  (and  sc 
viare  with  Ioju'uj?!).  Lechaeum 
was  the  port  of  Corinth  on  the 
Corinthian  Gulf,  as  Cenchreae  was 
its  port  on  the  east  side  of  the 
isthmus. 

20  phaselus :  the  term,  origi- 
nally derived  from  its  similarity  in 
shape  to  the  kidney  bean,  is  used 

3 


somewhat  loosely  by  the  poets  for 
any  swift-sailing  vessel,  e.g.  Cat, 
4,  I  ;   Hor.  Car.  3,  2,  29. 

21.  quod  superest  refers  to  the 
remainder  of  the  trip,  which  the 
poet  in  imagination  is  now,  at 
Lechaeum,  eager  to  accomplish. 
But  while  he  starts  across  the 
isthmus  on  foot,  it  is  only  to  take 
ship  on  the  Saronic  Gulf  for 
Athens. 

22.  terris:  abl.  of inst. 

24.  Theseae  .  .  .  viae :  i.e.  the 
road  that  the  poet  thinks  of  as 
trodden  by  Theseus  of  old  up  to 
Athens,  the  city  of  which  he  is 
the  mythical  hero.  —  bracchia 
longa:  the 'long  walls' extending 
from  Athens  to  the  Piraeus,  here 
called  'arms,'  after  the  Roman 
military  terminology,  were  called 
•  legs '  {(TKiXtj)  by  the  Athenians. 
Within  these  the  via  Thesea 
had  become  a  fine  street  be- 
tween four  and  five  miles  long, 
and   this  is  what  Propertius  pro 

20 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   III 


[21,  34 


25 


30 


illic  vel  studiis  animum  emendare  Platonis 

incipiam  aut  hortis,  docte  Epicure,  tuis, 
persequar  aut  studium  linguae,  Demosthenis  anna, 

librorumque  tuos,  docte  Menandre,  sales, 
aut  certe  tabulae  capient  mea  lumina  pictae, 

sive  ebore  exactae  seu  magis  aere  manus. 
aut  spatia  annorum  aut  longa  intervalla  profundi 

lenibunt  tacito  vulnera  nostra  sinu. 
seu  moriar,  fato,  non  turpi  fractus  amore : 

atque  erit  ilia  mihi  mortis  honesta  dies. 


poses  to  climb  {scandani) .  But 
in  his  time,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
walls  were  not  only  a  ruin,  but 
had  to  a  considerable  degree  been 
removed. 

25.  illic  :  i.e.  at  Athens.  — vel : 
instead  of  a  corresponding  vel  we 
have  a  series  of  clauses  each  intro- 
duced by  aut.  The  poets  abound 
in  Instances  of  similar  careless- 
ness, e.g.  Ovid,  Met.  15.  601  :  veU 
si  digitus  erit,  gravibiis  viiicite 
catenis,  ant  finite  inetn/ti  fatalis 
Diorte  tyranni.  —  studiis  .  .  .  Pla- 
tonis: the  Academic  philosophy. 

26.  hortis  :  Epicurus  taught  his 
disciples  in  a  celebrated  garden 
at  Athens,  and  left  it  to  be  used 
by  his  successors  for  the  same 
purpose. 

27.  linguae :  i.e.  ars  dice/idi, 
which  became  most  powerful  ariiia 
for  Demosthenes. 

28.  librorum  tuos  .  .  .  sales  :  hy- 
pallage  for  librontin  tiioruin  sales. 
—  Menandre  :  from  the  unusual 
ViornxviTiXXx^  Menandrus  ;  the  most 
celebrated  writer  of  the  new  Attic 

KO.M.    EL.    I'OETS 21  '\2\ 


comedy,  to  whom,  as  compared 
with  his  nearest  rivals,  the  epithet 
doctits  is  not  inappropriately  ap- 
plied ;  for  he  was  a  pupil  of  Theo- 
phrastus,  and  had  a  philosophical 
training. 

29.  aut  certe:  'or  at  any  rate' ;  if 
he  cannot  concentrate  his  thought 
on  intense  philosophical  study, 
he  can  at  least  divert  his  attention 
with  the  abundant  works  of  art  at 
Athens. 


30.    manus 


handiwork ' 


(works  of  art)  ;  cf.  Aetna,  598: 
vacca  Myronis  et  ianiniille  manus. 
Similarly  x"/°^5  in  Greek  (rarely 
and  late). 

31.  profundi :  sc  maris. 

32.  lenibunt :  the  only  case  of 
the  archaic  future  in  the  Augustan 
poets.  But  the  corresponding 
forms  of  the  imperfect  occur  in  i, 
3,  25,  and  3,  13.  35. 

33.  Propertius  has  changed  his 
tune  since  he  wrote  2,  13.  and  3, 
16,  22.      Cf.  also  2,  26,  58. 

34.  Cf.  2,  8.  27  :  ista  7nihi  mors 
est  itihonesta  ftitura. 


24.   0 


PROPERTl 


24 

Falsa  est  ista  tuae,  mulier,  fiducia  formae, 
olim  oculis  nimium  facta  superba  nieis. 

noster  amor  tales  tribuit  tibi,  Cynthia,  laudes: 
versibus  insignem  te  pudet  esse  meis. 

mixtam  te  varia  laudavi  saepe  figura, 
ut  quod  non  esses  esse  putaret  amor: 

et  color  est  totiens  roseo  collatus  Eoo, 


3'  24 

The  harshness  and  bitterness 
with  which,  in  this  and  the  suc- 
ceeding poem,  Propertius  re- 
nounces Cynthia  differ  from  any- 
thing in  the  other  elegiac  poets. 
Catullus  still  loves  after  he  has 
learned  to  hate.  The  gentle 
Tibullus  cannot  bear  to  hurt  the 
feelings  even  of  one  who  has  jilted 
him.  Ovid  is  not  to  be  taken 
seriously  when  he  undertakes  to 
break  with  his  imaginary  Corinna. 
But  Propertius.  when  he  ceases  to 
love,  transforms  his  passion  into 
a  burning  hatred.  Cynthia  is  by 
name  held  up  to  scorn,  and  the 
angry  poet  can  explain  his  former 
admiration  and  love  as  only  pure 
insanity,  while  he  gloats  over  the 
misery  in  which,  he  prophesies, 
she  will  end  her  days.  This  elegy 
should  be  carefully  compared  as  a 
kind  of  palinode  with  the  opening 
one  of  the  collection.  Cf.  also 
Schiller's    An  Mintia. 

1-8:  'It  was  under  a  delusive 
fascination  that  I  called  you  beau- 

.3 


tiful ;  9-20 :  but  what  no  powei 
could  compel  me  to  do,  I  now  do 
of  my  own  will,  acknowledge  my 
madness,  and  pray  for  sanity 
henceforth.' 

1.  Falsa:  'groundless.'  —  mu- 
llet :  the  term,  which  is  seldom 
used  by  the  elegists  as  compared 
with  fetnina  and  pitella,  and  no- 
where else  in  Propertius  as  an  ad- 
dress, is  significant  of  his  changed 
attitude  toward  his  mistress. 

2.  oculis :  i.e.  the  admiration 
of  the  observer.  —  facta  :  vocative. 

4.  pudet :  sc.  vie.  For  a  simi- 
lar thought  cf.  Tib.  i,  9,  47:  at- 
ionita  laudes  tibi  inetite  canebam, 
et  me  mine  nostri  Pieriduinqtie 
pudet. 

5.  mixtam  .  .  .  varia  .  .  .  figura : 
'as  combining'  various  types  of 
beauty,  or  '  beautiful  features,'  es- 
pecially in  the  early  poems  of  the 
first  two  books. 

6.  By  such  repeated  flattery 
Propertius  had  actually  fooled 
himself  into  believing  it  true. 

7.  roseo  .  .  .  Eoo:  cf.  Homer's 
'  rosy-fingered  morn.' 


22 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   III 


[24,  16 


cum  tibi  quaesitus  candor  in  ore  foret. 
quod  mihi  non  patrii  poterant  avertere  amici, 
10  eluere  aut  vasto  Thessala  saga  mari. 

haec  ego,  non  ferro  non  igne  coactus,  et  ipsa 

naufragus  Aegaea  verba  fatebor  aqua, 
correptus  saevo  Veneris  torrebar  aheno, 
vinctus  eram  versas  in  mea  terga  manus, 
15      ecce  coronatae  portum  tetigere  carinae, 
traiectae  Syrtes,  ancora  iacta  mihist. 

24.    12.    verba  0  vera  Passer  at. 


8.  quaesitus:  'procured  by 
artifice.'  The  contrast  suggested 
in  the  two  verses  could  only  arise 
in  the  case  of  one  completely 
blinded  by  love. 

9.  quod:  the  infatuation  de- 
scribed in  the  previous  eight  verses. 
Tlie  various  possible  agencies  for 
relief  from  it  following  here,  —  the 
persuasion  of  friends,  witchcraft, 
steel,  fire,  travel  over  the  seas,  —  are 
the  same  that  are  enumerated  in 
I,  I,  19-30. 

10.  saga  mari:  Medea,  wife  of 
the  Thessalian  Jason,  was  the  typi- 
cal witch.  The  sea  is  the  great 
purifier  in  nature.  Cf.  Schoemann, 
Gr.  Alt.  2,  374 ;  De  Jong,  Antike 
Mysterienivesen,  136;  Conybeare 
and  Howson,  St.  Paul,  i,  294. 

11.  haec,  although  referring  to 
some  general  idea,  such  as  quod 
(v.  9),  has  its  form  determined  by 
the  verba  in  v.  12. — non  .  .  . 
coactus :  i.e.  without  being  obliged 
to  resort  to  the  heroic  treatment 
of  I,  I,  27,  he  is  now  free  to  tell 


the   simple    truth  about  Cynthia, 
voluntarily. 

12.  Even  if  life  were  at  stake 
in  the  journey  he  has  already  (3, 
21)  projected,  he  is  confident  he 
would  still  stick  to  the  truth,  viz. 
that  all  his  previous  raptures  were 
'  empty  words  '  {verba).  Perhaps 
he  also  recalls  i,  17,  with  its  far 
different  state  of  mind. 

13.  The  poet's  obsession  is 
here  illustrated  from  the  picture 
of  a  victim  dragged  to  the  witches' 
caldron  for  torture.  Cf.  i,  3,  13: 
duplici  correptuui  arciore ;  3,  6, 
39  :  consimili  inposituni  torquerier . 
—  torrebar :  of  a  habitual  condition. 

14.  Cf.  Ovid,  Ex  P.  3,  2,  72  : 
eviiicti  geminas  ad  sua  terga 
manus. 

15.  coronatae  :  cf.  Verg.  6^^flrj3-. 
1 ,  303 :  ecu  prcssae  cujii  iam 
portum  tetigere  carinae  puppibus 
et  laeti  nautae  inposuere  coronas. 

16.  Syrtes :  among  the  most 
familiar  and  most  dreaded  perils 
of  ancient  navigators. 

,23 


24'   17] 


PROPERTI 


nunc  demum  vasto  fessi  resipiscimus  aestu, 

vulneraque  ad  sanum  nunc  coiere  mea. 
Mens  Bona,  siqua  dea  es,  tua  me  in  sacraria  dono. 
«o  exciderant  surdo  tot  mea  vota  lovi. 


25 

Risus  eram  positis  inter  cotivivia  mensis, 
et  de  me  poterat  quilibet  esse  loquax. 

quinque  tibi  potui  servire  fideliter  annos : 
ungue  meam  morso  saepe  querere  fidem. 


17.  resipiscimus :  a  word  pe- 
culiarly appropriate  for  recovery 
from  amorous  )ital  de  »ie>\  in  view 
of  the  thought  to  which  it  leads 
in  V.  19. 

18.  ad  sanum  .  .  .  coiere  :  j.e. 
'  heal '  {sa}iu))i  =  sanifaiein) ;  cf. 
Ovid,  Irist.  4,  4,  41  :  neve  re- 
tractando  nondiun  coeuniia  riifupe 
vulnera. 

19.  A  temple  was  indeed  dedi- 
cated to  Mens  on  the  Capitoline, 
in  accordance  with  a  vow  of  T. 
Otacilius  made  after  the  battle  of 
Lake  Trasimenus,  and  the  fes- 
tival of  this  personified  quality 
was  held  on  June  8th.  Mens 
Bona  as  such  we  do  not  hear  of 
elsewhere. 

20.  exciderant :  the  poet  had 
wasted  many  prayers  on  Jove  be- 
fore he  successfully  tried  the 
appeal  to  Mens  Bona. 


3'  25 

The   denouement. 
Intr. 


See 


3-    24, 


I -10:  'For  years  I  was  fool- 
ishly faithful.  You  will  recall  it 
with  regret,  but  no  arts  can  win 
me  back.  You  are  to  blame. 
Farewell.  11-18:  As  you  grow 
old,  may  your  lot  be  that  of  the 
ugly  hag,  and  may  you  know 
yourself  how  it  felt  to  be  dis- 
dained!    This  is  my  curse.' 

I.  Risus  :  'laughing-stock.''  For 
a  similar  use  of  this  noun  cf. 
Ovid,  Fast,  i,  438:  omnibus  ad 
litnae  lit/nina  n'sits  erat.  Proper- 
tius  uses  iocns  in  the  same  way  in 
2, 24, 16  :  me  .  .  .  piidet  esse  ioctim. 
—  positis  .  .  .  mensis  :  cf.  Plant. 
Most.  308  :  appone  hie  >/iensulani : 
Verg.  Aen.  i,  216:  exenipta  fames 
epulis  mensaeque  remotae.  Cf.  also 
the  expressions  niensa  prima,  and 
mensa  secunda,  which  originally 
had  a  literal  signification. 

3.  Cf.  Intr.  §33. 

4.  ungue  .  .  .  morso :  cf.  2.  4, 
3 :  saepe  inmeritos  corrumpas 
dcntibus  ungues.  —  querere :  '  la- 
ment the  loss  of.' 


^24 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   III 


[25,  18 


5      nil  moveor  lacrimis  :  ista  sum  captus  ab  arte, 
semper  ab  insidiis,  Cynthia,  flere  soles, 
flebo  ego  discedens,  sed  fletum  iniuria  vincit : 

tu  bene  conveniens  non  sinis  ire  iugum. 
limina  iam  nostris  valeant  lacrimantia  verbis, 
10  nee  tamen  irata  ianua  fracta  manu. 

at  te  celatis  aetas  gravis  urgeat  annis, 
et  veniat  formae  ruga  sinistra  tuae. 
vellere  tum  cupias  albos  a  stirpe  capillos 
ah  speculo  rugas  increpitante  tibi, 
15      exclusa  inque  vicem  fastus  patiare  superbos, 
et  quae  fecisti  facta  queraris  anus. 
has  tibi  fatalis  cecinit  mea  pagina  diras. 
eventum  formae  disce  timere  tuae. 

25.    7.   vincit  0  vincet  w. 


5.  ab  arte :  cf.  2,  27,  11,  n. 

6.  ab  insidiis :  adverbial,  like 
Tib.  I,  5,  4:  adsueta  versat  ab 
arte  puer. 

7.  Cf.  Cat.  76,  14;  85.  Ego 
is  emphatic  :  '  I  shall  weep  as  well 
as  you.' 

8.  tu  :  'but  it  is  you  who.'  — 
conveniens  .  .  .  iugum  :  '  the  well- 
matched  span';  cf.  i,  5,  2;  sine 
nos  ci/rsu,  quo  sianus,  ire  pares.  — 
ire:  i.e.  to  trot  in  '"near-"  matri- 
monial harness. 

9.  lacrimantia:  cf.  i,  16,  13, 
where  the  door  represents  itself 
as  driven  to  tears  by  the  pitiful 
complaints  of  a  lover :  grai'ibus 
cogor  deflere  querellis. 

10.  nee  tamen  :  i.e.  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  hand  was  that  of 
an  angry  man.  This  verse  is  a 
reminiscence  probably  of  2,  5,  22  : 


7iec  mea  praeclusas  fregerit  ira 
fores. 

1 1 .  celatis :  '  which  you  have 
tried  to  conceal.'  —  annis  :  to  be 
taken  with  gravis. 

13.  Ovid,  A.  A.  2,117  ;  tibi  iam 
veiierit  cani,  for/nose,  capilli,  iam 
venieiit  rugae,  quae  tibi  corpus 
arent.  —  stirpe:  cf.  Tib.  i,  8,  45  : 
tollere  tu/n  ciira  est  albos  a  stirpe 
capillos. 

15.  fastus :  the  shoe  is  to  be 
on  the  other  foot,  as  compared 
with  I,  18,  5. 

16.  quae  fecisti  facta  :  i.e.  com- 
plain, when  they  are  done  to  you, 
of  the  very  things  you  have  done 
to  others. 

17.  fatalis:  best  taken  with 
diras,  which  is  here  a  substantive 
(as  in  Tib.  2,  6,  53)  =  'curses.'  — 
pagina :  used  five  times  by  Prop. 

125 


».  0 


PROPERTI 


LIBER   QVARTVS 


Hoc,    quodcumque    vides,    hospes,    qua    maxima 
Romast, 
ante  Phrygem  Aenean  coUis  et  herba  fuit : 

1.    I.   qua  Scioppius  quam  0. 


4,  I 
Propertius  had  been  often  urged 
to  give  his  attention  to  a  more 
serious  type  of  poetry,  and  had 
several  times  {e.g.  2,  i  ;  3,  i  ;  3,  3) 
pleaded  his  inability  to  do  so,  yet 
with  various  hints  that  he  would 
really  like  to  try  his  hand  on  some- 
thing else.  In  this  elegy  he  dal- 
lies with  the  temptation  longer 
than  usual,  and  thus  practically 
makes  it  a  fitting  introduction  for 
this  last  book  of  his  poems.  For 
the  first  part  of  the  elegy  dwells  at 
length  on  the  earlier  history  and 
character  of  the  city  of  Rome,  and 
Nos.  2,  4,  6,  9,  and  10  in  tliis  book 
likewise  deal  with  the  origins  of 
legends  or  worships  connected 
with  particular  localities  in  Rome. 
It  is  evident  that  Propertius  was 
ambitious  to  imitate  the  Ainu  of 
his  great  model  Callimachus,  and 
planned  to  treat  in  topographical 
manner  the  various  noteworthy 
places  in  Rome,  as  Ovid  in  his  Fasti 
afterwards  explained  in  chrono- 
logical order  the  religious  cus- 
toms of  the  Roman  year.     In  the 


first  half  of  this  elegy,  the  poet 
starts  to  act  as  guide  to  a  stranger 
who  wants  to  know  Rome,  and 
expresses  aspiration  to  write  what 
will  serve  a  similar  purpose  for  all 
men ;  in  the  second  half  the 
stranger  reveals  himself  as  a  Chal- 
daean  astrologer,  who,  after  mag- 
nifying his  office  and  incidentally 
giving  a  history  of  the  poet's  life 
thus  far,  prophesies  that  Propertius 
will  always  be  a  slave  to  one  wo- 
man and  fit  only  to  write  amatory 
elegies.  The  date  of  this  elegy 
seems  thus  to  have  been  earlier 
than  that  of  the  other  aetiological 
elegies  of  this  book,  before  the 
final  break  with  Cynthia  occurred. 
Cf.  Dieterich  in  Rh.  Mns.  55 
(1900),  191-221. 

1-56:  'Humble  were  the  be- 
ginnings from  which  came  all  the 
wonders  of  Rome,  the  new  Troy, 
according  to  prophecy.  57-70: 
It  is  of  this  Rome  that  I  would 
sing  and  thus  win  glory  as  the 
Callimachus  of  Rome.  71-102: 
Hold!  rash  poet,  the  gods  favor 
not  your  project,  say  I,  Babylo- 
nian   Horos,    an    infallible    seer, 


.  326 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[I,  II 


lO 


atque  ubi  navali  stant  sacra  Palatia  Phoebo, 

Euandri  profugae  concubuere  boves. 
fictilibus  crevere  dels  haec  aurea  templa, 

nee  fuit  opprobrio  facta  sine  arte  casa, 
Tarpeiusque  pater  nuda  de  rupe  tonabat, 

et  Tiberis  nostris  advena  bubus  erat. 
qua  gradibus  domus  ista  Remi  se  sustulit,  olim 

unus  erat  fratrum  maxima  regna  focus, 
curia,  praetexto  quae  nunc  nitet  alta  senatu, 


as  I  can  prove  by  many  in- 
stances of  my  skill,  e.g.  the  cases 
of  Arria  and  Cinara.  103-118: 
All  other  prophecy  is  fallible ; 
even  Calchas  failed.  1 19-134: 
Now  then  I  will  prophesy  for  your- 
self your  own  destiny,  for  I  know, 
you  see,  the  whole  story  of  your 
life.  135-1 50  :  Only  the  elegy  in- 
spired by  just  one  girl  must  be 
your  theme,  and  you  shall  be  her 
slave.     But  beware  the  Crab  ! ' 

1.  quodcumque  vides :  the  im- 
aginary position  of  the  speaker 
might  have  been  on  the  Palatine, 
the  Capitoline,  the  Janiculan,  or 
any  other  such  height  commanding 
all  the  city.  —  hospes  :  apparently 
identical  with  the  seer  Horos  of  the 
second  part  of  the  poem. 

2.  Cf.  4,  4.  3-14;  Tib.  2,  5, 
25-34- 

3.  navali  .  .  .  Phoebo  :  the  ref- 
erence is  to  the  great  naval  vic- 
tory at  Actium  and  the  naval  de- 
feat of  Sextus  Pompey.  Cf.  2,  31, 
Intr.  ;  4,  6,  Intr.  —  Palatia:  cf. 
Tib.  2,  5,  25,  and  87,  n. 

4.  profugae  :  Euander  was  rep- 
resented in  myth  as  an  exile  from 


Arcadia.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  8,  333- 
336- 

5-  Cf.  2,  31,  I  ;  Tib.  I,  10,  20, 
n.  Augustus  said  he  found  Rome 
a  city  of  brick  and  left  it  a  city  of 
marble. 

7.  Tarpeiusque  pater :  Juppi- 
ter  Capitolinus. — nuda:  the  bare 
rock  without   temple  or  building 

(C.S.). 

8.  advena  :  '  a  visitor ' :  for 
cattle  only,  rather  than  for  a  city 
full  of  people,  and  a  passing 
visitor  rather  than  a  procession 
as  now  (C.  S.).  The  Tiber  came 
from  Etruria ;  cf.  Ovid,  Fast.  3, 
524:  hand  prociil  a  ripis,  advena 
Tliybri,  tuis. 

9.  gradibus :  the  Scalae  Caci, 
which  led  up  the  side  of  the  Pala- 
tine to  the  damns. — domus  .  .  . 
Remi :  the  Casa  Roinuli,  or  tradi- 
tional home  of  the  twin  founders 
of  Rome,  which  was  long  an  object 
of  veneration.     Cf.  Platner,  p.  128. 

II.  curia:  cf.  Ovid,  A.  A.  3, 
117:  curia  consilio  nunc  est  dig- 
nissima  tanto:  de  stipida  Tatio 
regna  tenente  fuit.  The  new 
Curia  Julia  was  dedicated  by  Au- 


327 


I,    12] 


PROPERTI 


15 


20 


pellitos  habuit  rustica  corda  patres. 
bucina  cogebat  priscos  ad  verba  Quirites: 

centum  illi  in  prato  saepe  senatus  erat. 
nee  sinuosa  cavo  pendebant  vela  theatro, 

pulpita  sollemnis  non  oluere  crocos. 
nulli  cura  fuit  externos  quaerere  divos, 

cum  tremeret  patrio  pendula  turba  sacro, 
annuaque  accenso  celebrare  Parilia  faeno, 

qualia  nunc  curto  lustra  novantur  equo. 
Vesta  coronatis  pauper  gaudebat  asellis, 

ducebant  macrae  villa  sacra  boves. 


19.    annuaque  0  annua  at  l.achinann.     celebrare  NFLV  celebrate  D  cele- 
brante  Iloiisman   {cf.  B.   O.  Foster  in   Class.    Phil.  2,  2jy). 


gustus,  29  B.C.  —  praetexto  .  .  . 
senatu :  a  large  number  of  the 
senators  bad  held  curule  magis- 
tracies, and  being  thus  entitled  to 
wear  the  toga  praetexta,  gave  a 
distinctive  tone  in  garb  to  the 
whole  assembly. 

12.  pellitos :  the  primitive 
method  of  clothing  is  contrasted 
with  the  modern  ;  the  rural  with 
the  urban:  cf.  Theognis.  55. 

13.  ad  verba  :  *  to  their  delibera- 
tions '  (C.  S.). 

14.  centum  illi :  the  traditional 
original  senate  as  created  by  Rom- 
ulus. Cf.  Livy,  I,  8,7:  centiitn 
creat  senatores. 

15.  cavo  .  .  .  theatro  =  cavea 
theatri.  —  vela :  such  as  those 
spoken  of  in  3,  18,  13,  n. 

16.  sollemnis:  'now  custo- 
mary ' ;  cf.  Lucr.  2,  416  :  ciuii  scena 
croco  Cilici  perfusa  recens  est. 

17.  externos  .   .  .  divos:    their 


name  was  legion  in  imperial  times 
at  Rome. 

18.  pendula:  'on  tiptoe  of  emo- 
tion '  (Phillimore). 

19.  celebrare :  sc.  ciiiqiie  cura 
fuit;  cf.  Hor.  Sat.  1,1,  i  :  Qui  fit, 
Afaeceiias,  id  nemo  .  .  .  conteittus 
vi7mt,  laiidet  diver  sa  sequent  is  ? 
—  Parilia  faeno:  cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  90,  n. 

20.  curto  .  .  .  equo :  the  '  Oc- 
tober horse.'  annually  sacrificed  to 
Mars  on  the  Ides  of  October.  The 
blood  which  fell  where  its  tail  was 
cut  off  was  used  for  suffi/nen.  Cf. 
H.  &  T.  §  205. 

21.  At  the  feast  of  Vesta,  on 
June  9th,  garlands  of  leaves  were 
strung  on  asses.  Cf.  Ovid,  Fast. 
6,  311:  ecce  coronatis  panis  de- 
pendet  asellis. 

22.  ducebant :  '  drew.'  —  sacra  : 
whatever  was  used  in  performing 
the  sacrifice. 
6. 


Cf.  2  Sam.  6.  3.  and 


328 


ELECTARVM    LIBER    TV 


['.  31 


parva  saginati  lustrabant  compita  porci, 

pastor  et  ad  calamos  exta  litabat  ovis. 

25      verbera  pellitus  saetosa  movebat  arator, 

unde  licens  Fabius  sacra  lupercus  habet. 
nee  rudis  infestis  miles  radiabat  in  armis  : 

miscebant  usta  proelia  nuda  sude. 
prima  galeritus  posuit  praetoria  Lyemon, 
30  magnaque  pars  Tatio  rerum  erat  inter  oves. 

bine  Titiens  Ramnesque  viri  Luceresque  Soloni, 

31.  Soloni  N   coloni  FLDV. 


23.  lustrabant  compita  :  at  the 
Compitalia  thus  humbly  celebrated 
in  early  days.  Cf.  Fowler,  Rom. 
Fest.,  pp.  279-280. 

24.  ad  calamos  :  '  to  the  sound 
of  reed  pipes.' 

25.  verbera  pellitus:  at  the 
feast  of  Lupercalia,  on  Feb.  15th, 
the  Luperci,  clothed  only  with 
a  girdle  of  goatskin,  ran  about 
striking  with  strips  of  goatskin 
the  women  they  met.  For  the 
rites  and  their  very  early  origin, 
cf.  Fowler,  Rojii.  Fest.^  pp.  310 
sqq. 

26.  Fabius :  there  were  two 
collegia  of  the  Luperci,  the  Fabii 
and  the  Quintilii. 

28.  miscebant  with  proelia  is 
poetic,  and  perhaps  an  imitation  of 
Callinus.  11. — nuda:  i.e.  with- 
out the  protecting  armor  of  later 
times.  —  sude:  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  11, 
894  :  stipitibus  ferrjim  sjtdibusqiie 
imitantur  obitstis  ;   12,  298  sqq. 

29.  galeritus  :  '  in  wolf-skin  hel- 
met'  (C.  S.);  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  7, 
688 :      fulvosqiie     lupi    de    pelle 


galeros.  —  Lyemon  :  a  Greek  form 
of  the  Etruscan  Lucumo,  who  ac- 
cording to  tradition  helped  Rom- 
ulus in  battle  against  Titus 
Tatius  and  his  Sabine  warriors. 

30.  But  Titus  Tatius  is  repre- 
sented differently  in  4,  4,  19-21. 

31.  hinc  :  i.e.  from  such  humble 
origins  as  are  indicated  in  the 
preceding  verses.  —  Titiens  :  used 
here  substantively  and  collectively 
in  the  singular  to  give  variety.  The 
Titienses  represented  the  Sabine 
element  in  Roman  citizenship,  the 
followers  of  Titus  Tatius.  —  Ram- 
nesque viri :  the  followers  of  Rom- 
ulus, the  Latin  element. — Luce- 
resque Soloni :  the  Etruscan  ele- 
ment, who  followed  Lucumo.  and 
crossed  the  Tiber  to  settle  in 
Latium.  These  three  groups 
formed  the  original  tribus  at  Rome. 
The  adjective  Soloni  refers  to  the 
city  of  Solonium  from  which  Lu- 
cumo is  said  by  Dionysius  Hal.  (2, 
2,7,  2)  to  have  come  :  cf.  Dieterich 
in  R/i.  Afus.,  Vol.  55  (1900),  pp. 
201  sq. 


329 


I,  32] 


PROPERTI 


quattuor  hinc  albos  Romulus  egit  equos. 
quippe  suburbanae  parva  minus  urbe  Bovillae, 
et,  qui  nunc  nuUi,  maxima  turba  Gabi, 
35      et  stetit  Alba  potens,  albae  suis  omine  nata, 
hac,  ubi  Fidenas  longe  erat  ire  vias. 
nil  patrium  nisi  nomen  habet  Romanus  alumnus 

sanguinis  altricem  non  pudet  esse  lupam. 
hue  melius  profugos  misisti,  Troia,  penates. 
40  o  quali  vecta  est  Dardana  puppis  ave  ! 


36.    longe  Olonga  w.    ire  FLDV  isse  N.    vias  0  via  w.     38.    pudet  w  putet  0. 


32.  albos  .  .  .  equos  :  the  poet 
ascribes  to  Romulus  the  privilege 
which  had  grown  up  by  the  time 
of  the  empire,  of  using  white  horses 
to  draw  the  triumphal  car;  cf. 
Tib.  I,  7,  8.  Tradition  said  that 
Romulus  had  enjoyed  three 
triumphs. 

33.  suburbanae  .  .  .  minus :  i.e. 
farther  from  Rome  itself  when  the 
city  had  not  extended  from  its 
center. — parva  .  .  .  urbe:  abl. 
abs.  —  Bovillae  :  the  first  of  a  series 
here  named  of  four  Latin  towns 
which  had  by  the  time  of  Proper- 
tius  become  practically  non-ex- 
istent, though  flourishing  in  the 
early  days  of  Rome.  It  was 
situated  about  nine  miles  from 
Rome  on  the  Via  Appia. 

34.  nuUi  =  non  stant.  —  Gabi 
=  Gabii ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  7,  682  : 
arva  Gabinae  Junonis ;  it  was  on 
the  Via  Praenestina. 

35.  stetit:  the  verb  does  duty 
for  vv.  33-35.  —  Alba:  the  head 
of  the  Latin  League  until  destroyed 


by  Tullus  Hostilius.  —  albae  suis  : 
cf.  Verg.  Aen.  3,  390;    8,  43-86. 

36.  The  various  arbitrary  text 
alterations  of  different  editors  have 
given  little  relief  to  this  verse.  — 
hac  :  sc.  v/a.  —  Fidenas  :  appar- 
ently used  here  as  an  adjec- 
tive agreeing  with  vms  after  the 
Propertian  manner;  cf.  i,  i,  13. 
Fidenae  was  five  miles  from  Rome 
on  the  Via  Salaria,  in  the  opposite 
direction  from  Alba.  —  ire  vias  : 
cf.  I,  20,  18:  egressajn  longe  Pha- 
sidos  isse  viani. 

37.  nil  patrium  nisi  nomen : 
i.e.  their  name  as  derived  from 
Romulus  had  been  retained,  rather 
than  the  simple  life  of  his  day. — 
Romanus  alumnus  :  the  composite 
population,  native  and  foreign,  of 
the  imperial  city  of  Rome. 

38.  The  Romans  are  not 
ashamed  of  the  wolfs  blood,  for  it 
made  them  warlike(C.S.),  whence 
came  their  glorious  history. 

39.  melius :  i.e.  for  a  better 
career  than  in  their  Trojan  home. 

30 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   IV 


Ih  55 


iam  bene  spondebant  tunc  omina,  quod  nihil  illam 

laeserat  abiegni  venter  apertus  equi, 
cum  pater  in  gnati  trepidus  cervice  pependit 

et  verita  est  umeros  urere  flamma  pios. 
45      tunc  animi  venere  Deci  Brutique  secures, 

vexit  et  ipsa  sui  Caesaris  arma  Venus, 
arma  resurgentis  portans  victricia  Troiae. 

felix  terra  tuos  cepit,  lule,  deos, 
si  modo  Avernalis  tremulae  cortina  Sibyllae 
50  dixit  Aventino  rura  pianda  Remo, 

aut  si  Pergameae  sero  rata  carmina  vatis 

longaevum  ad  Priam i  vera  fuere  caput, 
'  vertite  equum,  Danai !     male  vincitis  :  Ilia  tellus 

vivet  et  huic  cineri  luppiter  arma  dabit.' 
55      optima  nutricum  nostris  lupa  Martia  rebus, 


4 1 .  illam  =puppim  Dardanam. 

42.  venter  apertus :  i.e.  '  the 
opening  of, '  etc. 

44.  umeros  .  .  .  pios:  umeros 
pa  Aeneae. 

45.  animi  .  .  .  Deci:  cf.  3,  11, 
62,  n.  —  Brutique  secures  :  the 
patriotic  sternness  of  Brutus 
against  his  own  sons  when  they 
conspired  to  restore  the  Tarquins 

(C.S.). 

46.  vexit  .  .  .  ipsa  .  .  .  Venus : 

i.e.  by  guarding  the  fleet  of  Aeneas 
through  all  perils  to  Italy.  Cf. 
Verg.  Aeti.,  passim. 

48.  tuos  .  .  .  lule,  deos :  Pro- 
pertius,  of  course,  wishes  to  em- 
phasize the  thought  that  the  domi- 
nant Julian  family  is  largely  re- 
sponsible for  the  imperial  greatness 
of  Rome. 

49.  si  modo :   the  protasis  here 

33 


and  in  V.  51  implies  the  actuality 
of  the  assumption.  Cf.  PAFA., 
Vol.  36  (1905),  p.  xlii,  I  {a). — 
Avernalis  =  Cuinaeae  —  cortina : 
an  embellishment  added  to  the  de- 
scription given  in  Verg.  Aeii.  6. 
The  poet  is  thinking  of  the  oracle 
of  Apollo;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  3,  92. 

50.  dixit :  Propertius  prob- 
ably invented  this  statement.  — 
Aventino:  'on  the  Aventine.' 
The  usual  place  ascribed  to  Remus 
in  ,the  famous  augury  of  the 
brothers  (cf.  Livy,  i,  6,  4) ;  but 
Enn.  Ann.  i,  81,  gives  this  hill  to 
Romulus. — rura  pianda:  merely 
as  a  preliminary  to  tlie  augury. 

51.  vatis:   Cassandra. 

53.  This  prophecy  in  essence 
is  found  in  Lycophron,  1226  sqq. 

55.  Martia:  the  she-wolf, 
sacred  to   Mars,  was  nurse  of  his 

I 


1,  56]  PROPERTI 

qualia  creverunt  moenia  lacte  tuo  ! 
moenia  namque  pio  coner  disponere  versu : 

hei  mihi  quod  nostro  est  parvus  in  ore  sonus! 
sed  tamen  exiguo  quodcumque  e  pectore  rivi 
60  fluxerit,  hoc  patriae  serviet  omne  meae. 

Ennius  hirsuta  cingat  sua  dicta  corona : 

mi  folia  ex  hedera  porrige,  Bacche,  tua, 
ut  nostris  tumefacta  superbiat  Umbria  libris, 

Umbria  Romani  patria  Callimachi. 
65      scandentes  quisquis  cernit  de  vallibus  arces, 

ingenio  muros  aestimet  ille  meo. 
Roma,  fave,  tibi  surgit  opus :  date  Candida  cives 

omina,  et  inceptis  dextera  cantet  avis, 
sacra  diesque  canam  et  cognomina  prisca  locorum  : 
70  lias  meus  ad  metas  sudet  oportet  equus.  — 

65.    cernit  NLDV  cernet  F. 

twin  sons,  the  founders  of  Rome  ;  64.    Umbria  .  .  .  patria:        cf. 

cf.  H.  &  T.  §  205.  Intr     §  31.  — Romani  .   .   .    Cal- 

57.  moenia:     the    theme   now  limachi :  cf.  3,  i,  i. 
definitely    proposed,    after    these  65.    Cf.  v.  125. 
preHminaries. — namque:  for  the  66.   muros:  like  moenia    in    v. 
position  cf.     Uhlmann,  p.   71. —  57;    Propertius    includes  all    that 
pio  :   cf.    V.  60.  —  disponere  =  de-  the  walls   inclose.     For  the    idea 
scribere.  cf.  Ovid,  A»i.  3,  15,  11. 

58.  'Ah,    me!    that  the  strain  67.    surgit:   the   poem  is   com- 
should  be  so  feeble  in  my  mouth '  pared  to  a  structure. 

(C.  S.).                                          "  69.    The     enthusiasm     of    the 

61.    The     spasm    of    modesty  poet   leads     him    to    expand    his 

past,  Propertius  proceeds  to  emu-  scheme    boldly,   and    announce  a 

late  the 'father  of  Roman  poetry '  theme   not   unlike     that    actually 

and    his    own   great    Alexandrian  treated  by  Ovid  in  the  Fasti. 

model,       Callimachus.  —  hirsuta:  70.    Cf.    Verg.    Georg.  -^^  202 : 

cf.  Ovid,  Trist.  2,  259 :   sumpserit  ad  Elei  metas  et  maxima  campi 

Annates,  —  nihil      est      hirsutius  sudabit  spaiia  ;    Hor.   Car.   i,  15, 

illis  ;    Am.   i,   15,   19,  n.     But  cf.  9:  lieu  Jieu,  quant  us  eqHis,qnantus 

Prop.  3,  3,  6.  adest  viris  sudor  I 

332 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER  IV 


[i,  82 


'quo  ruis  inprudens,  vage,  dicere  fata,  Properti  ? 

non  sunt  a  dextro  condita  fila  colo. 
accersis  lacrimas  cantans,  aversus  Apollo : 

poscis  ab  invita  verba  pigenda  lyra. 
75     certa  feram  certis  auctoribus,  aut  ego  vates 

nescius  aerata  signa  movere  pila. 
me  creat  Archytae  suboles  Babylonius  Horops 

Horon,  et  a  proavo  ducta  Cononc  domus. 
di  mihi  sunt  testes  non  degenerasse  propinquos, 
80         inque  meis  libris  nil  prius  esse  fide, 
nunc  pretium  fecere  deos,  et  fallitur  auro 

luppiter.     obliquae  signa  iterata  rotae 

73.   cantans  Baehrens  cantas  0.       75.    aut  0    baud  u.       77.    Horops  en 
Horos  N  m.  rec.  Orops  0- 


71.  The  Jwspes,  unmasking 
himself,  rudely  interrupts  the 
imaginative  flight  of  the  poet. 

73.  accersis:  sc.  tibi. — aver- 
sus :  sc.  est. 

75.  certa  feram  .  .  .  aut  .  .  . 
nescius :  i.e.  1  will  stake  my  repu- 
tation as  an  astrologer  on  the 
accuracy  of  my  statements  to  you. 

76.  pila :  such  a  planetarium, 
or  machine  for  indicating  the 
movements  of  the  planets,  as  is 
described  in  Cic.  De  Re  Pub.  i, 
22  ;  sphaerae  genus,  in  quo  solis  et 
lunae  niotus  inessent  et  earu/ji 
quinque  stellaruni  .  .  .  iiiventuin 
Archiinedi,  etc. 

77.  creat :  for  the  tense  cf.  v. 
121. —  Archytae:  the  celebrated 
astronomer  of  Tarentum  ;  cf.  Hor. 
Car.  I,  28,  2.  —  Babylonius,  like 
Chaldaeus,  refers  rather  to  the 
astrological  skill  of  the  man  than 


to  his  nationality.  —  Horops  :    cf. 
a>|OOcrK07ro?. 

78.  Horon :  the  name  is  in- 
tended to  be  self-explanatory,  as 
that  of  a  professional  astrologer, 
who  casts  one's  nativity. —  Conone  : 
another  distinguished  Greek  as- 
tronomer, from  Samos  ;  cf.  Verg. 
Ec.  3,  40  :  C 0110)1  et  —  quis  fuit 
alter,  descripsit  radio  .  .  .  orb  em. 

79.  degenerasse  :  transitive.  Cf. 
Ovid,  Ex  P.  3,  I,  45  :  hanc  cave 
degeneres. 

81.  nunc:  'in  these  days.'  — 
pretium:  'a  means  of  gain.'  — 
fecere  :  subject  indef.  —  fallitur : 
'  is  made  a  mockery  of.' 

82.  The  list  of  subjects  that 
Horos  can  wisely  discuss  and  in- 
terpret depends  upon  dicam  (v. 
87).  —  obliquae  .  .  rotae  :  i  e.  the 
ecliptic.  —  signa  :  of  the  zodiac.  — 
iterata  :  i.e.  as  the  years  pass. 


;33 


h  83] 


PROPERTI 


felicesque  lovis  Stellas  Martisque  rapacis 
et  grave  Saturni  sidus  in  omtie  caput, 
85     quid  moveant  pisces  animosaque  signa  leonis 
lotus  et  Hesperia  quid  capricornus  aqua, 
dicam  :  Troia  cades,  et  Troica  Roma  resurges ; 

et  maris  et  terrae  longa  sepulcra  canam. 
dixi  ego,  cum  geminos  produceret  Arria  natos, 
90         (ilia  dabat  natis  arma  vetante  dec) 

non  posse  ad  patrios  sua  pila  referre  penates : 
nempe  meam  firmant  nunc  duo  busta  fidem. 
quippe  Lupercus,  equi  dum  saucia  protegit  ora, 
heu  sibi  prolapso  non  bene  cavit  equo  : 
95     Gallus  at,  in  castris  dum  credita  signa  tuetur, 
concidit  ante  aquilae  rostra  cruenta  suae, 
fatales  pueri,  duo  funera  matris  avarae ! 


83.    Of    the    planets,   Juppiter  89.    dixi :  proof  of  the  justice 


was  called  lucky,  Mars  deadly, 
Saturn  disastrous  ;  cf.  Cic.  De  D/v. 
I,  85  :  cur  Stella  hwis  aut  Veneris 
coniuncta  cum  Luna  ad  ortus 
pueroruin  salutaris  sit,  Saturni 
Mariisve  i  out r aria. 

86.  lotus  :  '  when  it  dips  ' ;  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  2,  17,  19:  tyr annus 
Hesperiae  Capricornus  iindae. 

87.  Troia  cades,  etc.  :  an 
apodosis  to  the  protasis  implied  in 
dicam  ;  i.e.  if  I  speak  such  words 
of  prophecy  and  wise  interpreta- 
tion as  have  just  been  enumerated, 
they  will  all  infallibly  come  true, 
even  to  the  falling  and  rising  again 
of  Troy. 

88.  longa:  'distant.''  From 
Protesilaus  onward  through  the 
long  years  of  wanderings  as  told 
in  the  Iliad,  Odyssey,  and  Aeneid. 


of  his  claims  by  actual  success  in 
the  past  is  cited  through  two  in- 
stances, which  are  not  otherwise 
known  to  fame. — produceret: 
ie.  in  the  train  of  the  general  de- 
parting for  war. 

90.  deo :  which  deity  is  left 
indeterminate. 

91.  The  hope  of  the  mother 
was  doomed  to  be  disappointed, 
prophesied  Horos. 

92.  nempe :  '  as  a  matter  of 
fact.' 

93.  The  pathetic  details  of 
the  death  of  the  two  sons  seem  to 
be  descriptive  of  some  actual 
events  known  to  Propertius. 

97.  matris :  the  case  implies 
the  responsibility  of  the  real  author 
of  their  fate,  in  that  she  persisted 
against  due  warning.  —  avarae  :  a 


334 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[I,   107 


-     vera,  sed  invito  contigit  ista  fides, 
idem  ego,  cum  Cmarae  traheretLucma  dolores 
100         et  facerent  uteri  pondera  lenta  moram, 
"  lunonis  facito  votum  inpetrabile  "  dixi : 

ilia  parit,  libris  est  data  palma  meis. 
hoc  neque  arenosum  Libyae  lovis  explicat  antrum, 
aut  sibi  commissos  fibra  locuta  deos, 
105    aut  siquis  motas  cornicis  senserit  alas, 

umbrave  quae  magicis  mortua  prodit  aquis : 
adspicienda  via  est  caeli  verusque  per  astra 

lOl.   facito  votum  Lachmaym  facite  votum  0  votum  facite  ». 


common  motive,  but  vague  in  its 
application  here,  unless  we  could 
know  more  of  the  circumstances. 
Perhaps  Propertius  knew  her  mo- 
tive ;  perhaps  he  only  ascribes  a 
general  one. 

98.    fides:  'prophecy.' 

gg.  Cinarae :  a  typical  name 
of  a  Greek  hetaera.  —  traheret : 
'  prolonged.'' 

100.  facerent.  .  .moram: 'lin- 
gered.' 

loi.  lunonis :  sc.  Ltccinae. 
The  case  implies  that  the  goddess 
can  claim  such  worship  as  a  right. 
Cf.  Bursian's  y.  ^.,  Vol.  140,  3, 
26. 

103.  lovis  .  .  .  antrum :  the 
famous  oracle  of  Juppiter  Amnion 
in  the  Libyan  Desert,  By  this 
time,  however,  its  authority  had 
been  already  much  reduced ;  cf. 
Strabo,  17,  813;  yet  Juvenal 
(6,  553-555)  speaks  of  it  as  still 
held  in  reverence. 


104.  fibra :  the  entrails  in- 
spected by  the  Etruscan  haru- 
s pices.  —  deos  :  i.e.  the  secrets  of 
the  gods.  Cf.  Tib.  i,  8,  3  :  conscia 
fibra  deoruni',  2,  i,  26;  Tac. 
Ger.  I  o :  deorjtm  illos  \_eqiios\ 
conscios  piitaiit.  Cf.  the  Stoic 
idea  of  the  immanence  of  God. 

105.  Old-fashioned  Roman  au- 
gury. The  cortiix  y<iA?,  one  of  the 
special  divining  birds,  the  oscities ; 
cf.  Hor.  Car.  3,  27,  11:  oscinem 
corvum  prece  suscitabo. 

106.  umbrave  .  .  .  mortua: 
'  ghost.'  —  magicis  .  .  .  aquis  :  a 
favorite  resort  for  the  practice  of 
necromancy.  One  such  well- 
known  spot  was  the  lake  of 
Avernus ;  cf.  Cic.  Tusc.  Disp.  I, 
37  :  /;/  viciiiia  nostra  Averni lacus, 
"  iinde  animae  excitantur  obscura 
umbra  opertae  ex  ostio  altae 
Acheruntis  y 

107.  per  astra  trames  :  cf.  sig- 
na,  v.  82,  n. 


335 


I,  io8] 


PROPERTI 


no 


"5 


1 20 


trames,  et  ab  zonis  quinque  petenda  fides, 
exemplum  grave  erit  Calchas:  namque  Aulide  solvit 

ille  bene  haerentes  ad  pia  saxa  rates, 
idem  Agamemnoniae  ferrum  cervice  puellae 

tinxit,  et  Atrides  vela  cruenta  dedit : 
nee  rediere  tamen  Danai.     tu  diruta  fletum 

supprime  et  Euboicos  respice,  Troia,  sinus. 
Nauplius  ultores  sub  noctem  porrigit  ignes, 

et  natat  exuviis  Graecia  pressa  suis. 
victor  Oiliade,  rape  nunc  et  dilige  vatem 

quam  vetat  avelli  veste  Minerva  sua. 
hactenus  historiae  :  nunc  ad  tua  devehar  astra  : 

incipe  tu  lacrimis  aequus  adesse  novis. 


108.  zonis  quinque :  the  five 
zones  in  the  heavens  supposed  to 
correspond  to,  and  to  condition, 
those  on  our  earth,  are  described 
in  Verg.  Georg.  i,  233  sqq.  ; 
Cic.  Som.  Scip.  13;  etc. 

109.  Calchas :  a  well-known 
case  of  a  mistaken  prophet,  adapted 
to  serve  as  a  '  horrible  example ' 
to  all  that  fail  to  resort  to  astrol- 
ogy. —  Aulide  :  where  the  Greeks 
assembled  for  the  expedition 
against  Troy.  —  solvit :  by  proxy, 
of  course,  in  prophesying  success 
and  announcing  a  favorable  mo- 
ment for  embarking. 

no.  pia:  'loyaP;  even  the 
rocks  would  fain  have  saved  their 
countrymen  from  the  dire  disas- 
ters that  were  to  come  before  they 
reached  home  again. 

III.   Agamemnoniae  .  .  .  puel- 


lae :  Iphigenia ;  the  adjective 
serves  as  a  patronymic.  —  ferrum  : 
the  sacrificial  knife. 


113.  fletum  supprime :  even  in 
her  hour  of  ruin  Troy  is  repre- 
sented as  ceasing  for  a  time  her 
mourning,  to  gloat  over  the  de- 
struction of  the  Greek  fleet  on  the 
rocks  of  Caphareus  ;  cf.  3,  7,  39,  n. 

115.  Nauplius:  who  set  the 
false  signal  fires  on  the  Euboean 
shore  and  led  the  returning 
Greeks  to  shipwreck. 

116.  Graecia:  cf.   3,  7,   40,   n. 

117.  vatem:  Cassandra,  whom 
Ajax  Oileus  ravished  in  the  temple 
of  Minerva  where  she  sought  pro- 
tection, clinging  to  the  robe  of  the 
goddess. 

120.  lacrimis:  i.e.  a  cause  for 
tears,  a  new  tale  of  woe.  —  aequus 
adesse :  i.e.  '■  to  listen  calmly.' 
Propertius  is  an  adept  in  discover- 
ing substitutes  for  the  adverb,  and 
with  Vergil  leads  in  avoiding  the 
adverb  in  e.  See  H.  Priess : 
Usum  adverbii  quatenus  fugerint 
poetae  Laiini,  etc. 

336 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[i.  131 


Umbria  te  notis  antiqua  penatibus  edit 

(nicntior?     an  patriae  tangitur  ora  tuae  ?), 
qua  nebulosa  cavo  rorat  Mevania  campo 

et  lacus  aestivis  intepet  Umber  aquis 
125     scandentisque  Asisi  consurgit  vertice  murus, 

murus  ab  ingenio  notior  ille  tuo. 
ossaque  legisti  non  ilia  aetata  legenda 

patris,  et  in  tenues  cogeris  ipse  lares : 
nam  tua  cum  inulti  versarent  rura  iuvenci, 
130         abstulit  excultas  pertica  tristis  opes. 

mox  ubi  bulla  rudi  dimissa  est  aurea  collo, 

123.    qua  o)  quam  0.       125.    Asisi  Lachmann  asis  NFL  axis  DV. 


121.  For  the  birthplace  of 
Propertius  cf.  Intr.  §31.  —  Um- 
bria :  cf.  I,  22,  9^  n.  —  antiqua  :  cf. 
Pliny,  N.H.  3,  112:  Uiiibrornin 
gens  antiqiiissitiia  Italiae  exis- 
timntur.  —  penatibus  :  i.e.  family  ; 
cf.  I,  21,  I,  n.  — edit:   cf.  creat,  v. 

123.  Mevania:  modern  Be- 
vagna,  on  low-lying  land  full  of 
springs,  was  formerly  a  more  im- 
portant place  than  at  present. 

124.  lacus  .  .  .  Umber:  if  the 
poet  means  anything  more  than 
the  spreading  waters  of  the  Cli- 
tumnus  here,  he  must  refer  to  a 
lake  long  since  drained,  a  pro- 
ceeding of  which  there  are  famous 
examples  in  Italy.  Important 
operations  of  this  kind  were  under- 
taken in  this  region  according  to 
Cassiodorus,  Var.  2,  21,  2.  Cf. 
Class.  Rev..  Vol.  22  (1908),  p.  245, 
where  H.  E.  Butler  refers  to  a  local 


tradition  of  such  a  former  lake 
near  Assisi.  —  intepet :  found  only 
here  and  in  Statins,  Tlieb.  2,  377. 

125.  Cf.  V.  65. — vertice:  may 
be  taken  as  instrument,  referring  to 
the  wall,  or  locative,  referring  to 
tlie  high  location  of  the  city,  but 
not  necessarily  =  J//;// /«<?. 

126.  Cf.  V.  66.  —  For  the  prep- 
osition  cf.  2,  27,  II,  n. 

127.  ossaque  legisti:  cf.  Tib. 
3,  2,  17. — ilia:  'at  such  an' 
[early]. — legenda:  i-e.  he  ought 
not  to  have  been  bereaved  so 
early ;  to  be  taken,  of  course,  with 
ossa. 

128.  tenues  .  .  .  lares  :  i.e.  hum- 
ble circumstances. 

130.  abstulit  .  .  .  pertica:  i.e. 
his  lands  were  confiscated  for  dis- 
tribution to  others.     Cf.  3,  5i  5- 

131.  bulla  .  .  .  dimissa  :  as 
was  customary  at  the  assumption 
of  the  tomi  virilis. 


ROM.  EL.  POETS - 


22 


\17 


J.  132] 


PROPERTI 


matris  et  ante  deos  libera  sumpta  toga, 
turn  tibi  pauca  suo  de  carmine  dictat  Apollo 
et  vetat  insano  verba  tonare  foro. 
135     at  tu  finge  elegos,  fallax  opus,  (haec  tua  castra) 
scribat  ut  exemplo  cetera  turba  tuo. 
militiam  Veneris  blandis  patiere  sub  armis 

et  Veneris  pueris  utilis  hostis  eris. 
nam  tibi  victrices,  quascumque  labore  parasti, 
140         eludet  palmas  una  puella  tuas  : 

et  bene  cum  fixum  mento  discusseris  uncum, 

nil  erit  hoc,  rostro  te  premet  ansa  suo. 
illius  arbitrio  noctem  lucemque  videbis, 

gutta  quoque  ex  oculis  non  nisi  iussa  cadet. 
145     nee  mille  excubiae  nee  te  signata  iuvabunt 

140.  eludet  w  eludit  0.  141'.  cum  fixum  Memmianus  confixum  0.  dis- 
cusseris (0  discusserit  0  decusseris  Broukhtisius.  142.  premet  co  premat 
NLDV   premit   F. 


132.  matris:  now  acting  as 
head  of  the  family  after  the  death 
of  his  father.  —  deos :  the  Lares. — 
libera:  of  a  free  citizen. 

134.  Apollo,  by  inspiring  him 
to  poetry,  interrupted  the  normal 
course  of  his  life  as  a  young  noble- 
man trained  to  the  law.  Cf.  Ovid, 
Trist.  4,  10,  15-30. 

135.  fallax  :  '  unsatisfying,'  as 
the  poet's  own  experience  had 
proved.  —  haec  tua  castra  :  cf.  2, 
10,  19,  n.  ;  Tib.  i,  i,  75. 

137.  Cf.  I,  6,  29-30. 

138.  pueris  utilis  :  i.e.  for  them 
to  aim  at,  a  susceptible  young 
man.  Propertius  is  following  here 
the  later  conception  of  a  plurality 
of  Cupids.  Note  the  succession 
of  words  ending  in  is. 


140.  eludet:  'shall  mock.'  — 
palmas :  a  type  of  successful 
achievement. 

141.  bene  cum  :  cf.  Tib.  2,6,  14. 
—  uncum  :  probably  the  hook  with 
which  corpses  were  dragged  from 
the  place  of  execution ;  cf.  Ovid, 
Ibis  1 64 :  indeplorattim  proiciere 
caput ;  carnificisque  manii,  populo 
plaudente,  t?'ahe?-is,  infixusque 
tuis  ossibus  uncus  erit;  Juv.  10, 
66  ;  Seianus  ducitur  unco. 

142.  rostro :  the  point  or  barb 
of  the  hook  which  grips  like  a 
'beak.'  — ansa:  'the  handle.' 

143.  illius  =  pjiellae. 

145.  excubiae:  'watchers.'  — 
signata  .  .  .  limina:  'sealing  the 
doors.'  Cf.  the  legend  of  Pyra- 
mus  and  Thisbe. 


338 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   IV 


[3.  2 


150 


limina :  persuasae  fallere  rima  sat  est. 
nunc  tua  vel  mediis  puppis  luctetur  in  undis, 

vel  licet  armatis  hostis  inermis  eas, 
vel  tremefacta  cavo  tellus  diducat  hiatum  : 

octipedis  cancri  terga  sinistra  time.' 


Haec  Arethusa  suo  mittit  mandata  Lycotae, 
cum  totiens  absis,  si  potes  esse  mens. 


146.  persuasae  :  '  when  once 
she  has  made  up  her  mind.'  This 
transitive  use  of  the  verb  belongs 
to  \.\\Q  sertno  cotttdiatiHs.  Cf.  Uhl- 
mann,  p.  24. 

147.  nunc,  used  as  here  to 
bring  the  argument  to  a  close,  re- 
minds of  the  modern  use  of  '  now 
then,'  for  which  the  ordinary  classi- 
cal equivalent  is  igitnr. 

148.  armatis:  cf.  3,  1,26,  n. 

149.  cavo:  used  substantively : 
'open  in  a  yawning  gulf 

150.  None  of  the  perils  enumer- 
ated in  the  preceding  verses  need 
terrify  him,  so  long  as  he  avoids 
the  constellation  which  the  astrol- 
oger names  as  his  b^e  noir.  The 
ulterior  meaning  of  this  absurdity 
to  which  the  poem  here  is  reduced 
is  obscure. 

4,  3 

A  love  letter  from  a  Roman 
lady  to  her  husband  now  long  ab- 
sent from  her  in  the  wars. 
Whether  or  not  the  names  Are- 
thusa and  Lycotas  represent  any 


particular  persons  known  to  the 
poet  cannot  be  decided.  Some 
have  believed  these  names  stand 
for  the  Aelia  Galla  and  Postuivms 
of  3,  12.  Rothstein  suggests  that 
Lycotas  represents  the  Lupercus 
of  4,  I,  93.  Similarly  the  attempt 
to  fix  the  date  of  the  elegy  and  to 
connect  it  positively  with  a  partic- 
ular campaign  {eg.  that  against 
the  Parthians  in  20  B.C.)  can 
hardly  be  successful.  The  absent 
warrior  has  served  on  many  a 
field,  "  from  the  rising  of  the  sun 
to  the  going  down  of  the  same," 
and  the  various  references  to  the 
Parthian  country  are  not  convinc- 
ing proof  that  he  is  actually  there 
at  the  present  time.  But  wher- 
ever lie  is,  waiting  for  a  fair  wind 
to  bring  liim  back,  or  for  the 
summer  sun  to  melt  the  icy  bonds 
that  prevent  his  return,  this  letter, 
which  the  lovelorn  lady  would  not 
have  known  whither  to  send,  must 
appeal  to  every  reader  as  one  of 
the  most  delightful  specimens  of 
the  poet's  art.       It    reveals  a  re- 


339 


3,  3] 


PROPERTI 


3. 

dus. 


siqua  tamen  tibi  lecturo  pars  oblita  derit, 

haec  erit  e  lacrimis  facta  litiira  meis  : 
aut  siqua  incerto  fallet  te  iittera  tractu, 

signa  meae  dextrae  iam  morientis  erunt. 
te  modo  viderunt  iterates  Bactra  per  ortus, 

te  modo  munito  Neuricus  hostis  equo, 

8.    'i^enrxcws  Jacob  hericus  NFL  hernicus  D  henricus  V  Sericus  Beroal- 


markable  acquaintance  with  the 
workings  of  the  feminine  mind, 
and  a  sympathetic  knowledge  of 
woman's  heart.  Though  a  model 
for  the  Heroides  of  Ovid,  it  stands 
above  them  all  in  simplicity,  subtle 
analysis,  and  genuine  feeling. 

1-6:  'I  can  scarcely  write  intel- 
ligibly, for  my  grief,  7-10:  to 
one  who  is  so  constantly  a  wan- 
derer from  me.  11-18:  Was  this 
the  meaning  of  our  marriage  vows  ? 
19-22  :  Perish  the  man  that  tauglit 
the  art  of  war  !  23-28  :  Do  you 
suffer?  I  hope  a  little  of  the 
sutfering  is  because  you  miss  me. 
29-42:  How  is  it  with  me?  I 
caress  your  very  weapons,  pass 
sleepless,  lonely  nights ;  weave 
garments  for  you  to  wear  in  camp, 
and  study  eagerly  about  the  dis- 
tant regions  where  you  tarry. 
Only  sister  and  nursie  are  with 
me,  with  vain  comforts.  43-48: 
Would  that  I  might  follow  you  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  !  49-62 : 
Greatest  of  all  is  the  love  of  a 
wedded  wife ;  without  her  hus- 
band she  has  nothing  to  live  for ; 
every  event  of  life  is  turned  to  his 
account.      63-72 :    Take    care    of 


yourself,   but    be   true,  and   when 
you  come  1  will  praise  the  gods.' 

2.  cum  .  .  .  absis  :  the  clause 
is  subordinate  to  the  following 
protasis.  —  meus  :  corresponding 
to  S2W  in  v.  I . 

3.  derit  —  dcerit. 

4.  Ovid  made  good  use  of  this 
idea ;  cf.  Her.  3,  3  :  quascumque 
aspicies.  lacrimae  fecere  lituras; 
II,  I  ;   Tn'st.  I,  I.  13,  etc. 

6.  iam  morientis :  the  hyper- 
bole is  to  be  taken  rather  more 
seriously  than  the  familiar  and 
thoughtless.  "  Tm  just  dying  to  see 
you,"  of  to-day. 

7.  iterates  .  .  .  per  ortus :  '  re- 
peated risings.'  referring  to  sunrise, 
seems  to  imply  that  he  had  been 
in  Parthia  now  on  two  separate 
expeditions.  —  Bactra  :  a  chief  city 
of  Bactria.  representing  to  Rome 
the  Far  East. 

8.  munito  .  .  .  equo  :  when,  in 
cavalry,  horse  and  man  both  were 
mailed,  they  were  called  cata- 
pliracti;  cf.  3, 1 2, 1 2  -.ferreiisaurato 
neii  cataphractus  equo.  —  Neuricus  : 
perhaps  the  Sarmatian  tribe  which 
Tacitus  describes  as  cataphracti 
{Hist.    I,    79).       But    the    word 


340 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   IV 


t3.  H 


hibernique  Getae,  pictoque  Britannia  curru, 
lo  ustus  et  eoa  discolor  Indus  aqua. 

haecne  marita  fides,  hae  sunt  pactae  mihi  noctes, 

cum  rudis  urgenti  bracchia  victa  dedi  ? 
quae  mihi  deductae  fax  omen  praetulit,  ilia 
traxit  ab  everso  lumina  nigra  rogo, 

II.  hae  sunt  pactae  mihi  DV  et  pacatae  mihi  FL  et  parce  avia  N  et 
pactae  in  gaudia  Kothstein  (in  savia  Ilanpf).  noctes  0  et  primae  praemia 
noctis  IIoHS)nan  et  pactae  jiraemia  noctis  Foster,  alii  alia. 


occurs  nowhere  else,  though  Neuri 
or  Neitroe  are  mentioned  among 
these  obscure  tribes. 

9.  Getae  :  just  north  of  the 
Danube.  —  pictoque  .  .  .  curru : 
Caesar  {B.  G.  4,  24,  and  33)  does 
not  refer  to  the  adornment  of  the 
characteristic  chariots  of  the 
Britons. 

10.  ustus :  '  swarthy  '  because 
ofthe  hot  climate.  —  eoa  .  .  .  aqua  : 
may  be  taken  of  the  great  southern 
sea  as  a  whole,  extending  from 
Ethiopia  to  the  Far  East.  It  may 
be  considered  either  an  instru- 
mental ablative  or  locativewithiZ/j- 
color.  Propertius  probably  neither 
knew  nor  cared  which.  Cf  Ovid, 
A.  A.  3,  130:  quos  legit  hi  viridi 
decolor  Indus  aqua.  —  discolor  : 
the  peculiar  character  of  the  water 
of  the  Indian  Ocean,  as  well  as  of 
the  Red  Sea  {e.g.  its  effect  on  a 
pearl  diver),  was  an  article  of  the 
geographical  creed  of  the  Roman 
poets;  cf.  Tib.  2,  2,  16,  n.  ;  4,  2, 
19.  —  Indus  :  this  may  refer  to  the 
Ethiopians  (cf.  Verg.  Georg.  4, 
293)1  against  whom  a  Roman 
campaign    was    conducted    by  C. 


Petronius  in  22  B.C. ;  but  in  con- 
sideration of  the  state  of  geo- 
graphical knowledge  then,  it  is 
dangerous  to  be  dogmatic.  Cf. 
Ovid,  Trist.  5,  3, 23  :  Persidaque  et 
lata  spatiantei)t  flu  mine  Gangen..  et 
quascutnque  bibit  decolor  Indus 
aquas.  Cf  Tac  Agr.  10, 
where  ignorance  of  Europe  is  ex- 
ploited ;  much  less  did  Propertius 
have  any  clear  conception  of  the 
great  Southeast. 

II.  Cf.  Ovid,  Her.  6,  41 :  heul 
7ibi  pacta  fides?  ubi  conubialia 
iura  f 

13.  deductae  fax :  the  torches 
carried  in  the  wedding  procession 
when  the  bride  was  conducted  to 
the  bridegroom's  house.  Cf.  Cat. 
61,  77. 

14.  everso  .  .  .  rogo :  i.e.  from 
fire  discovered  in  poking  open  the 
ashes  of  a  funeral  pyre  after  it  had 
burnt  out.  —  lumina  nigra  :  cf. 
Hor.  Sat.  i,  9,  72  :  kuncine  solem 
tani  nigrum  surrexe  mihi  I  Ovid, 
Fast.  2,  561  :  conde  tuas,  Hy- 
f/ienaee,  facis  et  ab  ignibus  atris 
aufer !  habent  alias  maesta  sepul- 
cra  faces. 


341 


3.  15] 


PROPERTI 


15 


20 


ec  Stygio  sum  sparsa  lacu,  nee  recta  capillis 
vitta  data  est,  nupsi  non  comitante  deo. 

omnibus  heu  portis  pendent  mea  noxia  vota: 
texitur  haec  castris  quarta  lacerna  tuis. 

occidat,  inmerita  qui  carpsit  ab  arbore  vallum 
-    et  struxit  querulas  rauca  per  ossa  tubas, 

dignior  obliquo  funem  qui  torqueat  Ocno 


15.  sparsa :  as  a  bride  she 
should  rather  have  been  sprinkled 
with  water  from  a  running  stream 
or  a  spring.  Cf.  Servius  on  Ae/i. 
4,  167:  aqua  petita  de  piiro  fonte 
.  .  .  interest  nuptiis.  —  recta : 
Festus  (p.  286)  refers  to  an  old 
superstition  whereby  certain  ar- 
ticles of  apparel  worn  on  formal 
occasions  must  be  woven  verti- 
cally according  to  an  ancient 
custom,  rather  than  horizontally. 

16.  deo:  Hymen. 

17.  portis  pendent :  Cf.  CIL. 
3,  1422 :  Fortiinae  reditci,  Lari 
viali,  RoDiae  aeternae.  Altars 
with  such  inscriptions  might  well 
have  stood  at  the  city  gates,  where 
vows  and  offerings  were  made  to 
ensure  the  safe  return  of  absent 
friends  (cf.  v.  71).  A  temple  to 
Fortuna  Redux  and  a  triumphal 
arch  were  erected  outside  the 
Porta  Triumphalis  before  the  re- 
turn of  Domitian  from  the  Sarma- 
tian  campaign;  cf.  Mart.  8,  65. — 
noxia  :  i.e.  they  seem  to  do  more 
harm  than  good. 

18.  quarta :  apparently  Lycotas 
had  already  been  absent  on  several 
different      campaigns. — lacerna: 


Lucretia  was  similarly  engaged 
when  Tarquinius  came  to  her 
house.  Cf.  Ovid,  Fast.  2,  745  : 
niittenda  est  domino  —  nunc,  nunc 
propel  ate,  puellae !  —  quainpri- 
nm/n  nostra  facta  lacerna  fuanu. 

19.  vallum:  carried  by  every 
Roman  warrior,  and  accordingly 
a  type  of  war.  The  poet  makes 
Arethusa  curse  the  inventor  of 
war;  cf.  Tib.  i,  10,  i. 

20.  rauca  :  proleptic.  —  per 
ossa  :  cf.  3,  g.  26,  n. ;  "  make  out 
of  bone"  is  the  English  idiom. 

21.  obliquo:  Propertius  evi- 
dently has  a  picture  in  mind,  per- 
haps that  of  Socrates  mentioned 
by  Pliny  (A^.  H.  35,  137),  or  its 
more  celebrated  prototype  by 
Polygnotus  (Pans.  10,  29,  i), 
where  Ocnus  is  sitting  slantwise 
at  his  work,  spending  his  strength 
endlessly  in  twisting  a  grass  rope 
which  a  donkey  behind  him  de- 
vours as  fast  as  it  is  made,  —  here, 
a  type  of  the  warrior,  whose  work 
is  vain  and  endless,  and  especially 
of  the  inventor  of  weapons,  etc. 
Cf.  Tib.  I,  10,  I  ;  Bachofen, 
Grdbersytnbolik,  pp.  301  sqq., 
314,  338  sq..  349  sqq. 


342 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    IV  [3,  37 

aeternusque  tuam  pascat,  aselle,  famem. 
die  mihi,  num  teneros  urit  lorica  lacertos  ? 

num  gravis  inbelles  atterit  hasta  manus  ? 
25      haec  noceant  potius  quam  dentibus  ulla  puella 

det  mihi  plorandas  per  tua  colla  notas. 
diceris  et  macie  vultum  tenuasse  :  sed  opto, 

e  desiderio  sit  color  iste  meo. 
at  mihi  cum  noctes  induxit  Vesper  amaras, 
30  siqua  reUcta  iacent,  osculor  arma  tua. 

turn  queror  in  toto  non  sidere  pallia  lecto, 

lucis  et  auctores  non  dare  carmen  aves. 
noctibus  hibernis  castrensia  pensa  laboro 

et  Tyria  in  radios  vellera  secta  suos. 
35      et  disco  qua  parte  fluat  vincendus  Araxes, 

quot  sine  aqua  Parthus  milia  currat  equus. 
cogor  et  e  tabula  pictos  ediscere  mundos, 

34.    radios  w  gladids  0  clavos  Afss.  of  Passer  at  {?).     suos  0  suo    Rossherg. 

23.  num:  Aretlnisa  hopes  for  a  31.  Cf.  Ovid.  Am.  i,  2,  2; 
negative  answer  for  her  comfort.  tieque  in  lecto  pallia  nostra  sedent. 

24.  inbelles  :  she  thinks  of  him  32.  auctores  :  '  heralds  '  (  But- 
as  a  bridegroom,  not  as  a    hard-  ler). 

ened  soldier.  33.  castrensia  pensa  :  the  spin- 

26.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  i.  13.  1 1  :  si7>c  ning  for  the  lacerna  of  v.  18. 
Puer  fiirens   inprcssit   memorem  34.   radios:       'shuttles/      with 
dentc  labris  notam.  whicli     the    stuff   will    be    woven 

27.  diceris  :  perhaps  by  some  from  the  wool  now  dyed  with  tlie 
sympathetic  fellow-soldier   whose  costly  Tyrian  purple. 

letters  have  reached  home.  36.   An  important  question  for 

28.  color  :  by  implication  from  the  use  of  cavalry  in  the  desert, 
made;  cf.  also  i,  i,  22,  n.  — meo :  which  the  Parthians  must  often 
objective;  cf.  i,  8.  i,  n.  traverse. 

29.  noctes  induxit  Vesper  :  cf.  37.  tabula:  'a  map.'  —  mun- 
Cat.  62, 7,  Oetaeos  ostendit Noctifer  dos  :  in  the  same  sense  as  we  com- 
ignes',  Verg.  Geor^.  4,  552;  suos  monly  quote  Alexander's  phrase, 
Aurora  induxerat  art  us.  '  new  worlds  to  conquer.' 

343 


?•  3S] 


PROPERTI 


_.     qualis  et  haec  docti  sit  positura  dei, 
quae  tellus  sit  lenta  gelu,  quae  putris  ab  aestu, 
40  ventus  in  Italiam  qui  bene  vela  ferat. 

adsidet  una  soror,  curis  et  pallida  nutrix 

peierat  hiberni  temporis  esse  moras, 
felix  Hippolyte  !     nuda  tulit  arma  papilla 
et  texit  galea  barbara  molle  caput. 
45       Romanis  utinam  patuissent  castra  puellis  ! 
essem  militiae  sarcina  fida  tuae, 
nee  me  tardarent  Scythiae  iuga,  cum  pater  altas 

adstricto  in  glaciem  frigore  nectit  aquas, 
omnis  amor  magnus,  sed  aperto  in  coniuge  maior 
50  banc  Venus,  ut  vivat,  ventilat  ipsa  facem. 


38.  docti  .  .  .  dei  0  ediicti  .  .  .  Dai  Ellis  Arctoi  .  .  .  soli  Fonteinius. 
47.  altas  0  Atlas  I  tali.  48.  a^lstricto  Rotksteiti  Affricus  NFL  aeris  Rossberg 
Aeolus  Fonteinius  Arctoo  Lachinaiin  acrius  Postgate. 


38.  haec  .  .  .  positura :  '  the  ar- 
rangement of  this  earth.'  —  docti 
.  .  .  dei:  sLibj.  gen.  The  epithet 
sounds  strangely  modern  and  may 
perhaps  be  rendered,  '  in  his  wise 
providence.' 

39.  ab  aestu:  cf.  3.  2,  25,  n. 

41.  curis  :  the  explanation  of 
pallida. 

42.  peierat  .  .  .  esse  moras :  a 
remarkable  construction.  The 
reference  is  to  delay  in  the  return 
of  Lycotas. 

43.  Hippolyte  :  a  queen  of  the 
Amazons,  conquered  by  Theseus, 
and  taken  to  be  his  wife,  who 
according  to  one  form  of  the 
legend  accompanied  her  husband  to 
war  ;  cf.  Statius,  Theb.  12,  534  sqq. 

44.  molle  :  the  poet  cannot  for- 


get  her   sex,   and   gives   her   the 
attributes  of  an  ordinary  woman. 

46.  sarcina :  '  even  though  a 
burden  ' ;  cf.  Ovid,  Her.  3,  68  : 
11071  ego  sum  classi  sarcitia  magna 
titae. 

47.  pater  =  luppiter. 

48.  adstricto  .  .  .  frigore  :  cf. 
2,  26,  36,  n.  ;  Ovid,  Trist.  2,  T96: 
» I  oris  adsfyicto  quae  coit  mid  a  gelu. 
But  cf.  J.  E.  Church.  Jr..  in  Unii'. 
of  Nevada  Bulletin,  Vol.  2  (igo8). 
No.  4,  pp.  92-98. 

49.  aperto  :  i.e.  acknowledge  as 
legitimate;  cf.  Ovid,  Her.   13,  30. 

50.  vivat:  i.e.  burn;  cf.  4,  11, 
54.  — ventilat :  cf.  3,  16.  16  ;  Ovid, 
Am.  I,  1,8.  The  alliteration  may 
be  regarded  as  onomatopoetic,  im- 
itating the  sound  of  rushing  air. 


344 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[3.  58 


55 


nam  mihi  quo  ?     Poenis  tibi  purpura  fulgeat  ostris 

crystallusque  meas  ornet  aquosa  manus. 
.^  omnia  surda  tacent,  rarisque  adsueta  kalendis 

vix  aperit  clausos  una  puella  lares. 
Glaucidos  et  catulae  vox  est  mihi  grata  querentis : 

ilia  tui  partem  vindicat  una  toro. 
flore  sacella  tego,  verbenis  compita  velo, 

et  crepat  ad  veteres  herba  Sabina  focos. 


51.    tibi  0  te  N  nunc  Iloiisinan.       52.    meas  N  tuas  0.        55. 
Puccius  Craugidos  Buecheler  Graucidos  NL  Grancidos  AFDV. 


Glaucidos 


51.  nam  =  eteniui. —  mihi :  em- 
phatic.—  quo  :  'to  what  end,''  sc 
aliqiiid facia  III.  —  tibi :  contrasted 
emphatically  with  niilii. — purpura  : 
a  festal  garment  such  as  would  be 
appropriate  for  the  home-coming 
of  her  husband. 

52.  crystallusque  .  .  .  aquosa : 
a  ring  made  of,  or  set  with,  a  white 
transparent  stone.  Such  stones 
were  supposed  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  ice.  Cf.  Sen.  Q.N.  3, 
25,  12;  Pliny,  A^.//.  37,  23.  The 
attractions  of  personal  adornment 
mentioned  in  this  passage  corre- 
spond to  those  named  by  Catullus 
( 69,  3 )  :  si  illaiii  7'arae  labefactes 
inunere  nestis  aut  perhiciduli  de- 
liciis  lapidis. 

53.  omnia  surda :  the  stupid 
stillness  of  her  home  at  present  is 
contrasted  with  the  glad  celebra- 
tion hinted  at  in  the  previous 
distich.  ^  rarisque  :  i.e.  as  com- 
pared with  the  many  other  oc- 
casions when  it  would  happen  if 
the  household  were  in  a  normal 
state,  on  the  Nones,  the  Ides,  and 


holidays.  —  adsueta :  one  long  ac- 
quainted with  the  routine  forms  of 
the  ceremony.  All  such  matters 
were  turned  over  to  her,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  now,  and  were 
an  empty  form. 

54.  clausos:  in  the  larariutn. 
Cf.  Mau-Kelsey,  Pompeii,  pp.  252 
sqq. 

55.  Glaucidos :  the  Greek  name 
of  the  lap-dog  appropriately  re- 
fers to  its  color.  —  at:  'even.'  — 
querentis:  'whining.' 

56.  tui  partem :  '  a  part  of  thy 
place.' 

57.  flore  .  .  .  verbenis :  any 
herba  sacra ;  cf.  Servius  on  Aeii  1 2, 
120.  Propertius  does  not  hesitate 
to  use  the  sing,  collective  in  one 
word,  and  the  plur.  in  the  other. 
—  compita:  /.f.  the  shrines  of  the 
Lares  Compitales  at  the  compita. 

58.  crepat:  cf.  Tib.  2.  5,  81, 
n. — herba  Sabina:  savin  or  ju- 
niper, commonly  used  for  incense  ; 
cf.  Ovid,  Fast,  i,  343:  ara  dabat 

fmnos  herbis  contenta  Sabinis,  et 
lion  c.xiguo  laurus  adusta  sono. 


345 


3.  59] 


PROPERTI 


sive  in  finitimo  gemiiit  stans  noctua  tigno, 
60  seu  voluit  tangi  parca  lucerna  mero, 

ilia  dies  hornis  caedem  denuntiat  agnis, 

succinctique  calent  ad  nova  lucra  popae. 
ne,  precor,  adscensis  tanti  sit  gloria  Bactris, 
raptave  odorato  carbasa  lina  duci, 
65      plumbea  cum  tortae  sparguntur  pondera  fundae, 
subdolus  et  versis  increpat  arcus  equis. 
sed,  tua  sic  domitis  Parthae  telluris  alumnis 
pura  triumphantis  hasta  sequatur  equos, 
incorrupta  mei  conserva  foedera  lecti : 
70  hac  ego  te  sola  lege  redisse  velim. 

armaque  cum  tulero  portae  votiva  Capenae, 
subscribam  '  salvo  grata  puella  viro.' 


59.  noctua:  cf.  2,  28,  38,  n. 

60.  tangi  .  .  .  mero :  the  regu- 
lar method  of  meeting  the  omen 
of  a  sputtering  lamp,  which  was  a 
"  sign  "  of  "  company,"  while 
mcruin  was  a  token  of  hospitality  ; 
cf.  Ovid,  Her.  19.  151  :  stcrtiiiit 
et  Intneti  .  .  .  et  nobis  pros  per  a 
siffiia  dedit.  ecce,  meriiin  nittrix 
faustos  instillat  in  igties.  '  eras-  "" 
qjte  '  eriiniis  plures '  iiiquit  et  ipsa 
hihit.  —  parca  :   '  scantily  fed.' 

61.  caedem:  i.e.  for  sacrifice  in 
honor  of  the  hoped-for  return  of 
her  lord. 

62.  succinctique  .  .  .  popae :  the 
assistants  of  the  priests  at  sacrifice 
were  clad  in  a  short  garment  suit- 
able for  their  office ;  cf.  Suet.  Cat. 
^2  :  suecinetus popan/m  habit  11.  — 
ad  nova  lucra:  this  was  their  time 
to  "  make  hay  while  the  sun 
shines." 


63.  adscensis :  '  of  scaling  the 
walls  of.' 

64.  odorato :  a  conception  of 
eastern  princes  as  tenacious  in 
modern  times  as  in  Roman.— 
carbasa  lina :  a  typical  spoil  from 
this  region.  Carbasa  signified 
linen  of  an  especially  fine  quality, 
and  so  has  practically  adjectival 
force  here  with  Una. 

65.  plumbea  .  .  .  pondera :    for 
an   illustration    cf.    Baum.  Denk. 
Vol.  3,     p.     2077. — sparguntur 

'  are  flying.' 

66.  versis  .  .  .  equis  :  cf.  3,  4, 
17.  n. 

67.  sic:  cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  63,  n. 
—  alumnis  :  '  inhabitants.' 

68.  pura  .  .  .  hasta :  the  head- 
less spear  customarily  awarded  for 
deeds  of  unusual  bravery.  Cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  6.  760 :  pura  iuvenis 
qui  nititnr  hasta. 


346 


ELEGIARVM    LIBLR   IV 


[4,  2 


Tarpeium  nemus  et  Tarpeiae  turpe  sepulcrum 
fabor  et  antiqui  limina  capta  lovis. 


71.  The  proper  place  to  dedi- 
cate the  arms  of  the  returning 
victorious  warrior  would  be  a 
temple  of  Mars.  The  temple 
most  natural  and  convenient  would 
be  that  about  a  mile  outside  the 
Porta  Capena,  near  the  Appian 
Way,  along  which  the  army  would 
probably  return  from  the  east ;  cf. 
Ovid,  Fast.  6,  191  :  lux  eadein 
Marti  festa  est^  quern  prospicit 
extra  apposituni  Tectae  porta 
Capena  iiiae.  —  portae  :  poetic 
dat.  of  place  to  which. 

72.  Cf.  2,  28,  44. — salvo  = 
servato  (abl.). 

4»4 

A  typical  aetiological  elegy  on 
the  subject  of  the  Tarpeia  myth, 
with  characteristic  emphasis  upon 
the  erotic  element.  For  the  de- 
velopment of  this  myth,  and  its 
protean  forms  and  later  literary 
reminiscences  cf.  H.  A.  Sanders 
in  Rom.  Hist.  Sources  and  Insti- 
tutions (Univ.  of  Mich.  Studies), 
I,  1-47;  and  O.  Rossbach  in 
BPW.,  Vol.  25  (1905),  Sp.  1563. 
Its  origin  is  to  be  sought  far  back 
in  Greek  literature,  and  its  first  in- 
troduction into  Roman  legend 
probably  was  in  connection  with 
the  sack  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls, 


instead  of  the  wars  with  the 
Sabines.  Tarpeia's  motive  in 
Livy  (I,  11)  and  Plutarch  (Romu- 
lus) is  avarice;  but  in  making  her 
motive,  rather,  love,  Propertius 
has  doubtless  reverted  to  the 
original  form  of  the  myth  as  seen 
in  Parthenius,  Simylus,  and  others. 

1-2:  The  theme;  3-6:  the 
scene  ;  7-20  :  the  circumstances  : 
the  Sabine  camp  near  the  spring; 
Tarpeia's  duties  as  a  Vestal  take 
her  to  the  spring ;  she  beholds 
Tatius  below  engaged  in  military 
exercises;  21-30:  she  conceives 
a  violent  passion  for  the  handsome 
warrior,  which  becomes  all-absorb- 
ing; 31-66:  her  soliloquy,  in 
which  she  acknowledges  that  her 
love  overrides  all  other  considera- 
tions, plans  to  betray  the  city  into 
the  hands  of  her  adored  one.  and 
dreams  of  wedding  the  Sabine 
King ;  67-88  :  she  sleeps,  wakes 
on  the  festal  day  of  Rome's  birth, 
compacts  with  Tatius  to  deliver 
the  city  into  his  hand,  accomplishes 
the  betrayal.     89-94:   Her  reward. 

I.  Tarpeium  nemus:  while 
we  need  not  credit  Varro's  state- 
ment (/-.  L.  5,  41)  that  the 
Capitoline  hill  was  originally  called 
Mons  Tarpeius,  that  designation 
doubtless  was  often  used  even  in 


347 


4,  3] 


PROPERTI 


lo 


lucus  erat  felix  hederoso  conditus  antro, 

multaque  nativis  obstrepit  arbor  aquis, 
Silvani  raniosa  domus,  quo  dulcis  ab  aestu 

fistula  poturas  ire  iubebat  oves. 
hunc  Tatius  fontem  vallo  praecingit  acerno, 

fidaque  suggesta  castra  coronat  humo. 
quid  turn  Roma  fuit,  tubicen  vicina  Curetis 

cum  quateret  lento  murmure  saxa  lovis, 
atque  ubi  nunc  terris  dicuntur  iura  subactis, 

stabant  Romano  pila  Sabina  f  oro  ? 


conditus  0  consitus  u. 


the  time  of  Propertius,  and  what- 
ever remnants  of  a  sacred  hicics 
were  still  left  on  the  summit  could 
be  easily  designated  by  the  phrase 
with  which  this  elegy  opens.  Cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  8,  347 :  hitic  ad 
Ta?peia>n  sedeiu  et  Capitolia 
ducit. —  Tarpeiae  .  .  .  sepulcrum : 
her  real  or  supposed  tomb  on  the 
Capitol,  still  pointed  out  when 
Propertius  wrote.     Cf.  3,  u.  45. 

2.  The  first  temple  of  Juppiter 
Capitolinus  was  built  under  the 
kings.  The  second  temple,  built 
by  Sulla  and  Catulus.  had  been 
elegantly  restored  by  Augustus  in 
Propertius's  own  time. 

3.  lucus  .  .  .  felix :  '  a  grove 
of  noble  trees,'  such  as  were  con- 
nected with  religious  purposes  and 
associations.  —  conditus:  'se- 
cluded.'—  antro :  cf.  i,  i,  11.  n. 
Propertius  is  thinking,  not  of  any 
one  grotto,  but  of  the  curving 
slope  of  the  hill  on  the  side 
towards   the   Forum,    where    the 


rocks  offered  many  a  lurking- 
place.  The  abl.  is  locative. 
With  the  description  cf.  Ovid, 
A>n.  3,  I,  3  :  foHs  sacer  in  tnedio 
speluncaque  pumice  pendens. 

4.  nativis:  i.e.  of  springs. — 
obstrepit :  the  rustling  of  the  trees 
vies  with  the  murmur  of  the  waters. 

5.  Silvani  ....  domus  :  any 
such  grove  might  be  considered 
sacred  to  the  forest-god. 

6.  poturas :  instead  of  the 
more  usual  supine. 

7.  The  Sabine  leader  was 
Titus  Tatius,  ace.  to  Livy,  i,  10. — 
praecingit:  i.e.  he  runs  the  line  of 
his  fortification  close  to  the  spring, 
without  including  it. 

8.  fidaque  belongs  to  the 
predicate.  —  coronat :  '  encircles ' : 
cf.  Ovid,  Met.  9,  334 :  est  lacus 
.  .  .  sumntiim  ntyrteta  coronant. 

9.  Curetis:  adj.  from  Cures, 
the  chief  town  of  the  Sabines. 

10.  lento  :         '  long-reverberat- 


saxa  lovis :  the  Capitol. 


348 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER    IV 


[4,  22 


15 


20 


murus  erant  montes  :  ubi  nunc  est  curia  saepta, 

bellicus  ex  illo  fonte  bibebat  equus. 
hinc  Tarpeia  deae  fontem  libavit :  at  illi 

urgebat  medium  fictilis  urna  caput, 
et  satis  una  malae  potuit  mors  esse  puellae, 

quae  voluit  flammas  fallere,  Vesta,  tuas? 
vidit  arenosis  Tatium  proludere  campis, 

pictaque  per  flavas  arma  levare  iubas. 
obstupuit  regis  facie  et  regalibus  armis, 

interque  oblitas  excidit  urna  manus. 


13.  monies :  they  alone  sur- 
rounded the  Forum  valley  like  a 
wall,  whatever  the  extent  of  the 
legendary  wall  of  Romulus.  — 
curia:  the  senate  house  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Forum.  —  saepta  : 
i.e.  by  temples  and  other  public 
buildings. 

14.  illo  fonte:  there  was  a 
well-known  spring  in  the  Tullia- 
num,  near  the  Curia. 

15.  hinc  may  possibly  refer  to 
Roma  (v.  9),  but  seems  naturally 
to  refer  to  v.  14.  But  the  spring 
in  V.  15  must  be  identical  with 
that  in  v.  7,  which  would  seem 
necessarily  far  removed  from  that 
just  mentioned  in  v.  14.  Either 
Propertius  is  ambiguous  here,  or 
his  topography  must  be  declared 
as  vague  as  the  notorious  geogra- 
phy of  these  poets.  — deae:  cf.  v. 
18  :  the  dramatic  force  of  the  myth 
is  enhanced  in  the  form  which 
Propertius  adopts,  whereby  Tar- 
peia is  a  Vestal,  vowed  to  per- 
petual virginity.  Water  for  the 
service  of  the  goddess  must  be 
drawn     from     a     running,     open 


stream;    cf.    Preller'',  Vol.   2,    p. 
167.  —  at :  cf.  Tib.  i.  3,  63,  n. 

16.  fictilis  :  cf.  Tib.  i,  i,  38,  n. ; 
and  the  picture  of  Silvia  Vestalis 
going  after  water  in  Ovid,  Fast. 
3,  14:  ponitur  e  siomna  fictilis 
urna  couia. 

17.  et :  used  often  to  introduce 
an  exclamatory  question ;  cf.  2,  8, 
2 :  et  tu  me  lacrimas  fundere., 
amice,  vet  as  I  Cat.  29,  6;  Fried- 
rich,  p.  173. —  una  .  .  .  mors:  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  3,  27,  37  :  levis  uua 
mors  et  virgiuum  culpae. 

20.  picta  .  .  .  arma :  the  Sa- 
bine scutum  became  ultimately  the 
characteristic  legionary  shield  of 
the  Romans.  From  early  times  it 
was  painted  and  carried  distinctive 
designs.  —  iubas:  the  flowing 
mane  of  the  horse  on  which  Tatius 
rode.     Cf.,  however,  4,  i,  30,  n. 

21.  obstupuit:  regularly  used 
of  love  at  first  sight ;  cf.  Ovid, 
Met.  2,  726  :  obstipuit  for/na  love 
natus. 

22.  interque :  temporal ;  as  her 
hands  forgot  to  maintain  their 
grip,   the  pitcher    fell.  —  excidit: 


349 


4,  23]  PROPERTI 

saepe  ilia  inmeritae  causata  est  omina  lunae  , 

et  sibi  tinguendas  dixit  in  amne  comas  : 
25      saepe  tulit  blandis  argentea  lilia  nymphis, 

Romula  ne  faciem  laederet  hasta  Tati, 
dumque  subit  primo  Capitolia  nubila  fumo, 

rettulit  hirsutis  bracchia  secta  rubis, 
et  sua  Tarpeia  residens  ita  flevit  ab  area 
30  vulnera,  vicino  non  patienda  lovi : 

'  ignes  castrorum  et  Tatiae  praetoria  turmae 

et  formosa  oculis  arma  Sabina  meis, 
o  utinam  ad  vestros  sedeam  captiva  penates, 

dum  captiva  mei  conspicer  ora  Tati. 
35      Romani  montes  et  montibus  addita  Roma 

et  valeat  probro  Vesta  pudenda  meo. 
ille  equus,  ille  meos  in  castra  reportet;  amores, 

32.    formosa  DV  famosa  NFL.      34.    ora  Gronovius  arma  Vo  esse  0.      37. 
reportet  &>  reponet  0. 

cf.  Tib.  4,  2,  4  ;  Ovid.  ;!/<•/.  3,  39  :  28.    In  herabsorptionshe  hardly 

effluxere  urnae  manibiis.  noticed  the  brambles  as  she  hurried 

23.  saepe    .   .   .  causata        est:       home. 

Tarpeia  sought  excuses  to  revisit  29.    Tarpeia  :  a  proleptic  use. 

the   spring     and     perhaps     catch  30.   vulnera  .  .  .  non  patienda : 

sight  of  her  hero.     Cf.   Tib.   1,3,  such  dereliction  to  her  vows  would 

17.  be  intolerable  in  the  eyes  of  Jove. 

24.  tinguendas  ...  in    amne  :  The  wounds  are  those  inflicted  by 
for  purification  in  the  morning. —  Cupid's  dart. 

amne  =/r';//i?.  31.    ignes  castrorum  :    the  eve- 

25.  blandis:  'gracious.'  "iig   shadows    have   fallen    when 

26.  Romula:  cf.  3.  11,  52,  n.  Tarpeia   begins    her   soliloquy. — 

27.  primo  .  .  .  nubila     fumo  :  praetoria  seems  inconsistent  with 
i.e.  the  top  of  the  hill  is  beclouded  4.  i,  29. 

with  smoke  of  the  fires  kindled  in  34.   captiva:  'even    as    a    cap- 

jireparation  for  the  evening  meal;  tive.'  —  conspicer:  '  catch  sight  of.' 

cf.  Verg. /if.  1.83:  et  iain  siuiDna  36.   pudenda:     'who     will     be 

procul  villarnin  ciilmina  fioiiant,  shocked.' 

inaioresqiie  cadnnt  altis  de  monti-  37.    meos    .    .    .    amores  =  vie 

bus  umbrae.  amatitetn ;  cf.  2,  28,  39,  n. 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


L4,  47 


cui  Tatius  dextras  collocat  ipse  iubas. 
quid  mirum  in  patrios  Scyllam  saevisse  capillos, 
io  candidaque  in  saevos  inguina  versa  canes  ? 

prodita  quid  mirum  fraterni  cornua  monstri, 

cum  patuit  lecto  stamine  torta  via? 
quantum  ego  sum  Ausoniis  crimen  factura  puellis, 

inproba  virgineo  lecta  ministra  foco ! 
45      Pallados  extinctos  siquis  mirabitur  ignes, 

ignoscat:  lacrimis  spargitur  ara  meis, 
eras,  ut  rumor  ait,  tota  pugnabitur  urbe : 

47.    pugnabitur  0  purgabitur  Huleatt  pigrabitur  Honsman  potabitur  Koss- 
berg  cessabitur  Palmer. 


38.  Tarpeia  is  already  jealous 
of  the  caress  given  by  Tatius  to 
his  horse  when  arranging  the 
mane  on  the  right  side  of  his 
neck. 

39.  Tarpeia  seeks  for  justifica- 
tion, or  at  least  comfort,  from 
examples  of  other  maidens  who 
had  proved  disloyal  to  family  or 
country,  for  the  sake  of  love. 
Other  parallels  are  cited  ])y  San- 
ders {I.e.  above).  —  Scylla :  daugh- 
ter of  Nisus,  king  of  Megara.  She 
fell  in  love  with  the  besieging  king 
Minos,  and  cut  from  her  father's 
head  the  purple  (or  golden)  lock 
upon  which  his  life,  and  therefore 
the  safety  of  the  city,  depended. 
But  Minos  despised  her  treachery, 
and  caused  her  death,  as  Tarpeia's 
was  caused  by  Tatius. 

40.  Propertius  wrongly  identi- 
fies the  Scylla  of  verse  39  with  the 
notorious  sea  monster  in  the  straits 
of  Messina.     But  there  are  several 


other  examples  of  the  same  mis- 
take, e.g.  Verg.  Ec.  6,  74 ;  and 
Ovid,  Fast.  4,  500  and  A.  A.   i, 

331- 

41.  monstri :  the  Minotaur,  half- 
brother  of  Ariadne,  who  for  her 
love  to  Theseus  assisted  in  the 
scheme  for  killing  the  monster  by 
arranging  the  thread  which  served 
as  a  guide  in  the  Cretan  labyrinth. 

42.  lecto  :  '  by  gathering  up.' 

43.  ego  :  emphatic  contrast. 
Tarpeia  is  to  correspond  in  infamy 
among  the  Latins  to  Scylla  and 
Ariadne  among  the  Greeks. 

45.  Pallados  :  not  only  was  it 
supposed  that  the  sacred  fire  of 
Vesta  had  been  brought  to  Rome 
from  Troy,  the  city  of  Pallas  (cf. 
Verg.  Aen.  2,  297),  but  also  an 
image  of  Pallas,  also  believed  to 
have  been  brought  from  Troy,  was 
kept  in  the  temple  of  Vesta ;  cf. 
Ovid.  Fast.  6.  421-436. 

46.  Cf.  4,  3,  ; 


351 


4,  i;8] 


PROPERTI 


tu  cape  spinosi  rorida  terga  iugi. 
lubrica  tota  via  est  et  perfida:  quippe  tacentes 
50  fallaci  celat  limite  semper  aquas. 

o  utinam  magicae  nossem  cantamina  musae ! 
haec  quoque  formoso  lingua  tulisset  opem. 
te  toga  picta  decet,  non  quem  sine  matris  honore 
nutrit  inhumanae  dura  papilla  lupae. 
55      sic,  hospes,  pariamne  tua  regina  sub  aula? 
dos  tibi  non  humilis  prodita  Roma  venit. 
si  minus,  at  raptae  ne  sint  inpune  Sabinae : 

me  rape  et  alterna  lege  repende  vices, 
commissas  acies  ego  possum  solvere:  nuptae, 
60  vos  medium  palla  foedus  inite  mea. 

adde  Hymenaee  modos,  tubicen  fera  murmura  conde 

48.    cape  0  cave  F2. 


48.  tu  :  Tatius,  whom  Tarpeia's 
affection  longs  to  save  from  the 
dangers  of  battle  and  direct  by 
the  secret  path  to  the  capture  of 
the  citadel  in  a  bloodless  victory. 

49.  perfida:  •treacherous.'' 

50.  limite  :  •track.'  —  semper 
modifies  fallaci. 

52.  haec  quoque  .  .  .  lingua :  as 
well  as  Medea's,  e.g.  —  formoso  : 
Tatius,  cf.  the  original  signification 
of"  beau." 

53.  toga  picta  :  the  regulation 
robe  of  a  triumphing  Roman  im- 
perator.  —  non  quem  :  Romulus, 
contrasted  with  te. 

54.  Cf.  2,  6.  20  :  nidritus  duro^ 
Roviule,  lacte  lupae. 

55.  sic:  'if  so,'  i.e.  if  I  help 
you  to  become  King  of  Rome. 


56.  venit  :  more  emphatic  than 
the  expected  7'^«/'^/  of  this  apodosis. 

57.  Cf.  Cat.  64,  158  sqq.  ;  si 
tibi  non  cordi  fuerant  conubia 
nostra  .  .  .  tibi  iiicundo  fatmdarer 
serva  labore. 

58.  alterna  lege  :  'by  the  rule 
of  retaliation.' 

59.  ego  :  i.e.  I,  as  well  as  the 
Sabine  women,  who  rush  into  the 
thick  of  the  combat  to  stop  it. 
Tarpeia's  plan  depends  on  pre- 
vention. 

60.  medium  .  .  .  foedus  :  '  a 
compact  between  the  combatants.' 
—  palla:  as  a  wedding  gar- 
ment, here  used  by  metonomy  for 
marriage. 

61.  tubicen:  in  apposition  with 
Hymenaee.     Hymen  as  trumpeter 


352 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   IV 


[4i  72 


credite,  vestra  mens  molliet  arma  torus, 
et  iam  quarta  canit  venturam  bucina  lucem 

ipsaque  in  Oceanum  sidcra  lapsa  cadunt. 
65      experiar  somnum,  de  te  mihi  somnia  quaeram  : 

fac  venias  oculis  umbra  benigna  meis.' 
dixit,  et  incerto  permisit  bracchia  somno, 

nescia  vae  furiis  accubuisse  novis. 
nam  Vesta,  Iliacae  felix  tutela  favillae, 
70  culpam  alit  et  plures  condit  in  ossa  faces, 

ilia  ruit,  qualis  celerem  prope  Thermodonta 

Strymonis  abscisso  fertur  aperta  sinu. 

68.    vae  furiis  Jacob   se    furiis    Livineins   nefariis    0.       72.    abscisso    DV 
absciso  NFL  abscissos  .  .  .  sinus  Broukhusiiis.      fertur  0  pectus  Hertzberg. 


will   sound  a   very   ditTerent   note 
from  that  usually  heard  in  camp. 

63.  quarta  .  .  .  bucina :  the 
signal  for  the  beginning  of  the 
last  quarter  of  the  night ;  cf.  Eng. 
"eight  bells,"  etc.  The  bucina 
belongs  to  the  simple  manners  of 
the  early  age  here  described  :  cf. 

4,  I.  13- 

64.  Cf.  Verg.  Ae7i.  2,  9 :  stta- 
dentqiie  cadentia  sidera  somnos. 

65.  te :   Tatius. 

69.  Cf.  verse  45,  n  ;  Ovid,  Fast. 
6,  365  :  vidimus  Iliacae  transferri 
pignora  Vestae  sede;  258:  cui?i 
flatnmae  custos  aede  recepta  dea 
est. 

70.  alit :  Vesta  regards  Tar- 
peia's  case  as  hopeless,  and  pun- 
ishes her  by  hurrying  her  on  to 
certain  ruin.  — faces  :  cf.  4,  3,  50. 

71.  Thermodonta:  a  river  in 
Cappadocia,  commonly  regarded 
as  the  home  of  the  Amazons  ;  but 
Propertius  is  thinking  less  of  the 


geography  than  of  the  scene. 
Vergil  confuses  the  geography 
similarly  in  Aen.  11,  659:  quales 
Threiciae  cwn  flumina  T/termo- 
dontis  pulsant  et  pictis  bellantiir 
A))iazo)ies  ar>/iis. 

72.  Strymonis  :  a  Thracian 
woman,  here  regarded  less  as  a 
typical  Amazon  (like  Penthesilea, 
who  came  from  Thrace  to  her 
eastern  home),  than  as  a  Maenad  in 
Thrace  itself,  reveling  in  passionate 
frenzy.  —  abscisso  .  .  .  aperta  sinu  : 
'exposed  by  the  tearing  away  of 
her  garment ' ;  sinn  is  best  con- 
sidered an  abl.  abs.  The  picture 
is  that  shown  in  the  left-hand  figure 
of  illust.  No.  929  in  Baum.  Denk. 
If  we  read  absciso,  the  picture  be- 
comes that  of  an  Amazon  whose 
characteristic  mutilation  is  exposed 
as  she  rushes  into  battle.  But 
this  interpretation  is  less  in  har- 
mony with  the  mood  of  Tarpeia.  — 
fertur  :  *  is  hurried  along.' 


ROM.  EL.  POETS — 23 


353 


4,  73]  PROPERTI 

urbi  festus  erat,  dixere  Parilia  patres : 

hie  primus  coepit  moenibus  esse  dies, 
75      annua  pastorum  convivia,  lusus  in  urbe, 

cum  pagana  madent  fercula  divitiis 
cumque  super  raros  faeni  flammantis  acervos 

traicit  inmundos  ebria  turba  pedes. 
Romulus  excubias  decrevit  in  otia  solvi 
8o  atque  intermissa  castra  silere  tuba. 

hoc  Tarpeia  suum  tempus  rata  convenit  hostem : 

pacta  ligat,  pactis  ipsa  futura  comes, 
mons  erat  adscensu  dubius,  festoque  remissus : 

nee  mora,  vocales  occupat  ense  canes. 
85      omnia  praebebant  somnos  :  sed  luppiter  unus 

decrevit  poenis  invigilare  tuis. 
prodiderat  portaeque  fidem  patriamque  iacentem, 

nubendique  petit,  quern  velit  ipsa,  diem. 

76.    divitiis  0  delitiis  Vj  deliciis  w.     86.    tuis  0  suis  w.     88.    ipsa  0  ipse  V2. 

73.   festus:  sc.  <//>.$•  from  V.  74.  ^///^«7/j)  this  may  well  be  regarded 

—  Parilia:  April  21st,  the  birthday  as  a  dat..  and  it  would  be  proper 

of  Rome  ;  cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  87.  n.  to  class  it  as  a  supine.  — festoque  : 

76.  divitiis  :  '  rich  viands.'  the  enclitic  is  pregnant  in  mean- 

77.  raros:  'here  and  there';  ing  here :  'and  accordingly,  it  be- 
ef. Tib.  2,  5,  89,  n.  ing  a  holiday.' 

78.  inmundos :  because  bare,  84.  occupat :  sc.  Tarpeia ;  she 
and  of  course  increasingly  black  anticipates  the  alarm  they  would 
and    smoky   as    the   leaping    pro-  give. 

gresses.  85.    Everything  and  everybody 

81.  suum:  'favorable  to  her  was  wrapped  in  slumber. — lup- 
plans.'  piter:     to    whom    especially    this 

82.  pactis    ipsa    .    .    .    comes :  hill  was  sacred. 
Tarpeia  expects  to  be  a  voluntary  86.   tuis:  Tarpeia's. 

part  of  the  booty ;  cf.  the  remark  87.    portaeque  fidem  =  portatn- 

of  Scylla  in  Ovid,  Met.  8,  48  :  me  que  fidam. 

cofH2te7?i,  j/ie  pacts  pigmis  haberei.  88.   ipsa  :  asking  that  the  wed- 

83.  adscensu  :  with  such  an  ad-  ding  day  should  be  set  accordmg 
jective  as  dubius  (which  suggests  to  her  own  choice  was  assuming 

354 


e 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[6,  2 


90 


at  Tatius  (neque  enim  sceleri  dedit  hostis  honorem) 
'nube'  ait  '  et  regni  scande  cubile  mei.' 

dixit,  et  ingestis  comitum  super  obruit  armis. 
haec,  virgo,  officiis  dos  erat  apta  tuis. 

a  duce  Tarpeia  mons  est  cognomen  adeptus ; 
o  vigil,  iniuste  praemia  sortis  habes. 


Sacra  facit  vates  :  sint  ora  faventia  sacris 
et  cadat  ante  meos  icta  iuvenca  focos. 


93.   Tarpeia.  <i)  Ta.rpeio  OT&rpems /^ossiergTarpeivLva  Farmer.     94.    iniuste 
AFLDV  iniustae  N. 


the  queenship  which  she  coveted 
rather  than  an  inferior  station. 

90.  nube:  ironical  indeed!  for 
the  covering  she  is  to  liave  is  the 
deadly  one  of  the  shields,  as  she 
sinks  to  a  bed  of  death. 

91.  obruit  armis :  cf.  Livy,  i, 
11,7:  accept!  obnttain  armis 
necavere.  But  though  Propertius 
follows  the  regular  account  of  her 
death,  the  motive  of  avarice  which 
was  supposed  to  determine  its 
method  is  lacking. 

93.  duce :  their  guide  up  the 
citadel. 

94.  vigil :  she  alone  was  awake 
keeping  guard,  but  as  an  official 
vigil  she  was  hardly  a  success,  and 
the  expression  is  ironical.  — 
iniuste  :  i.e.  Tarpeia  did  not  de- 
serve the  everlasting  glory  of 
having  the  hill  called  after  her 
name. 


4,  6 

The  third  in  the  series  of  aetio- 
logical  elegies  in  this  Book  (cf. 
4,  I,  Intr.),  dealing  this  time  with 
the  temple  of  Apollo  on  the  Pala- 
tine hill,  which  was  completed  in 
28  B.C.  ;  cf.  2,  31,  Intr.  ;  Hor.  Car. 
I,  31.  At  the  time  of  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  temple,  Augustus  also 
established  ludi  quinqitetmales  in 
honor  of  Apollo,  under  whose 
patronage  the  victory  at  Actium 
had  been  won.  As  the  submission 
of  the  Sycambri  (v.  q']^  took  place 
in  16  B.C.,  it  appears  probable 
that  Propertius  timed  this  poem  to 
be  a  part  of  the  fourth  celebration 
of  these  games.  The  general  cor- 
respondence of  the  scene  of  the 
battle  of  Actium  here  with  that 
described  by  Vergil  as  represented 
on  the  shield  of  Aeneas  (^Aen    8, 


355 


6.3] 


PROPERTI 


cera  Philitaeis  certet  Romana  corymbis 
et  Cyrenaeas  urna  ministret  aquas. 

costum  molle  date  et  blandi  mihi  turis  honores, 
terque  focum  circa  laneus  orbis  eat. 

spargite  me  lymphis,  carmenque  recentibus  aris 
tibia  Mygdoniis  libet  eburna  cadis. 

ite  procul  fraudes,  alio  sint  aere  noxae : 

6.   3.    cera  0  ara  Haupt  serta  Scaliger. 


675  sqq.)  has  led  to  the  presump- 
tion that  both  may  be  traced  to  an 
official  picture  of  the  battle,  per- 
haps one  carried  in  the  triumphal 
procession  of  Augustus. 

1-14:  As  priest  of  Apollo  and 
the  Muses  the  poet  brings  his 
offering  of  song  in  honor  of  the 
Actian  Apollo.  15-26:  The  scene 
of  the  battle.  27-36 :  Apollo 
appears  equipped  for  war ;  37-54 : 
his  address  to  Augustus.  55-68: 
the  victory  of  Phoebus  and  Au- 
gustus— not  a  victory  over  one 
woman !  69-86 :  its  ideal  cele- 
bration. 

I.  vates  :  cf.  3,  I,  3;  Hor.  Car. 
3,   1 ,  3  :   Musarum  sacerdos  .  .   . 


canto ; 


3h 


quid  dedicatuni 


poscit  Apollinem  vates?  —  sint 
.  .  .  faventia  =  faveant:  cf.  Tib. 
2,  I,  I,  n. 

3.  cera  :  the  tablets  upon  which 
the  poet  writes,  standing  for  the 
thing  written.  —  Philitaeis  .  .  . 
corymbis:  'the  ivy-crowned  Phi- 
litas,'  i.e.  vie  with  Philitas  for 
laurels  in  writing.  Cf.  4.  i,  61- 
62;  Intr.  §  7,  n.  i.  For  the  syn- 
tax cf.  I,  7j  %  n- 


4.  Cyrenaeas:  Callimachus 
came  from  Cyrene.  The  order  of 
3,  I,  I  is  reversed. 

5.  costum  r  a  costly  oriental 
perfumed  ointment.  —  date  :  ad- 
dressed to  the  imaginary  minis- 
trants  at  the  altar.  —  blandi: 
'  grateful,'  i.e.  to  the  gods  ;  cf.  Tib. 
3,3,2.  —  turis   honores:    cf.   Tib. 

I.  7'  53- 

6.  laneus  orbis  :  the  white- fillet 
of  wool ;  cf.  Verg.  Ec.  8,  64 :  effer 
aquai?i  et  molli  cinge  haec  altaria 
vitta. 

7.  spargite :  cf.  Ovid,  Fast.  5, 
677 :  lauro  sparguntur  ab  iida 
ovinia.  —  recentibus  :  i.e.  made  for 
this  occasion,  probably  of  turf;  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  i,  19,  13  :  vivum  iiiihi 
caespitcfn  .  .   .  ponite. 

8.  tibia:  cf.  Tib.  2,  i,  86.— 
Mygdoniis  =  Phrygiis,  referring  to 
the  birthplace  of  the  flute.  —  libet : 
so  we  speak  of  a  bird  as  '  pouring 
forth '  music  from  its  throat ; 
taken  with  cadis  standing  for  the 
flute  itself,  this  is  a  highly  figura- 
tive verse. 

9  procul :  Verg.  Aen.  6,  258  : 
procul  o  procul  este,profani.  —  alio 


356 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[6,  21 


10 


pura  novum  vati  laurea  mollit  iter, 
musa,  Palatini  referemus  Apollinis  aedem  : 

res  est,  Calliope,  digna  favore  tuo. 
Caesaris  in  nomen  ducuntur  carmina  :  Caesar 
dum  canitur,  quaeso,  luppiter  ipse  vaces, 
15      est  Phoebi  fugiens  Athamana  ad  litora  portus, 

qua  sinus  loniae  murmura  condit  aquae, 
—  Actia  luleae  pelagus  monumenta  carinae, 
nautarum  votis  non  operosa  via. 
hue  mundi  coiere  manus:  stetit  aequore  moles 
20  pinea  :  nee  remis  aequa  favebat  avis. 

altera  classis  erat  Teucro  damnata  Quirino, 


.    .   .  aere :    i.e.    under    another 
sky. 

10.  novum :  a  type  of  poetry 
new  at  Rome,  though  tried  by 
Callimachus.  —  laurea:  as  dear  to 
Apollo.  —  mollit:  for  the  figure 
cf.  the  bibhcal  story  of  Palm  Sun- 
day. 

11.  After  this  highly  poetic  in- 
troduction we  have  here  the  simple 
announcement  of  the  real  theme 
of  the  elegy. 

12.  Calliope:  her  function  is 
not  restricted  in  Propertius  to  any 
particular  field,  any  more  than  in 
Horace  ;  cf.  3,  2,  16. 

13.  in  nomen:  'in  praise  of; 
purpose  ace.  —  ducuntur  carmina : 
'the  thread  of  my  song  is  spun.' 

14.  vaces :  '  keep  holiday '  (from 
ruling  the  universe),  i.e.  have 
leisure  to  listen. 

15.  Phoebi  .  .  .  portus:  the 
Ambracian  gulf,  at  whose  entrance 
on  the  promontory  of  Actium  was 
a    temple    of    Apollo.  —  fugiens : 


'stretching  back.'  —  Athamana: 
the  Athamanes  were  a  people  in 
Epinis,  northeast  of  the  gulf. 

16.  condit :  'quiets.' 

17.  luleae:  i.e.  of  his  descend- 
ant, Augustus. — pelagus:  '  veri- 
ig.'ble  sea';  in  apposition  with 
portus,  as  is  also  monumenta 
('  made  memorable  by  ') .  A  glance 
at  the  map  will  justify  the  ex- 
clamatory addition  of  pelagus  to 
the  description. 

18.  non  operosa  {i.e.  of  access)  : 
this  was  hardly  true  till  Augustus 
himself  made  improvements  at 
Nicopolis  after  the  battle  of  Ac- 
tium ;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  3,  275  :  for- 
midatus  7iautis  aperitur  Apollo.  — 
via :  '  roadstead.' 

19.  moles  pinea  :  referring  to 
the  two  fleets. 

20.  nee  :  with  adversative  force : 
L.  1445  (d). — avis:  'omen.' 

21.  Teucro:  the  followers  of 
Aeneas,  destined  to  found  Rome, 
are    constantly   called   Teucri    by 


157 


6,   22] 


PROPERTI 


pilaque  feminea  turpiter  acta  manu  : 
hinc  Augusta  ratis  plenis  lovis  omine  velis 

signaque  iam  patriae  vincere  docta  suae. 
25      tandem  aciem  geminos  Nereus  lunarat  in  arcus, 

armorum  et  radiis  picta  tremebat  aqua, 
cum  Phoebus  linquens  stantem  se  vindice  Delon 

(nam  tulit  iratos  mobilis  una  notos) 
adstitit  Augusti  puppim  super  et  nova  flamma 
30  luxit  in  obliquam  ter  sinuata  facem. 

non  ille  attulerat  crines  in  colla  solutos 

aut  testudineae  carmen  inerme  lyrae, 
sed  quali  adspexit  Pelopeum  Agamemnona  vultu 

25.    aciem  0  acies  to. 

form.  —  Nereus  :  as  the  lord  of  the 


Vergil ;  the  use  of  the  term  here 
emphasizes  the  decree  of  fate.  — 
damnata  :  'doomed  to  submit.' — • 
Quirino :  by  yielding  to  Oc- 
tavian,  the  enemy  really  gave  new 
glory  to  the  deified  founder  of 
Rome. 

22.  turpiter :  the  disgrace  lay 
in  being  pitted  against  a  woman, 
whose  soldiers  were  using  the 
national  weapon  of  the  Romans. 

23.  hinc:  corresponding  to 
aUera.  — Augusta:  by  anticipa- 
tion ;  the  title  was  not  given  to 
Octavian  till  27  B.C. — lovis:  as 
god  of  the  sky. 

24.  iam:  this  battle  was  only 
the  culmination  of  a  series  of 
victories  won  by  Octavian.  — 
patriae  :  the  victor  is  represented 
as  entirely  unselfish,  and  fighting 
to  save  the  State. 

25.  geminos  .  .  .  arcus  :  Octa- 
vian's  fleet  being  in  concave  (in- 
closing), and  Antony's  in  convex 


sea. 

26.  picta:  by  reflection. 

27.  linquens  .  .  .  Delon :  Ver- 
gil's description  of  the  shield  of 
Aeneas  (Ae/i.  8,  704)  represents 
Apollo  as  present  in  liis  own 
temple  at  Actium.  —  stantem  :  De- 
los  was  in  earlv  times  a  floating; 
island  according  to  myth,  after- 
wards anchored  by  Apollo,  whose 
birth  took  place  there.  —  vindice: 
'protector.' 

28.  una :  sc.  insula. 

29.  nova:  'strange.' 

30.  luxit  .  .  .  ter :  thus  was  the 
omen  most  perfect.  Cf.  Tib.  1,3, 
II.  —  facem :  the  curve  seems  to 
have  been  like  that  described  by 
a  meteor,  for  which  fax  is  the 
regular  word. 

31.  Not  like  the  peaceful  Apollo, 
e.g.  described  in  Tib.  2,  5,  2-10. 

33.  Pelopeum :  the  curse  upon 
the    descendants    of    the    crafty 


358 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[6,  47 


egessitque  avidis  Dorica  castra  rogis, 
35      aut  qualis  flexos  solvit  Pythona  per  orbes 
serpentem,  inbelles  quern  timuere  lyrae. 
mox  ait  '  o  longa  mundi  servator  ab  Alba, 
Auguste,  Hectoreis  cognite  maior  avis, 
vince  mari :  iam  terra  tua  est.     tibi  militat  arcus 
40  et  favet  ex  umeris  hoc  onus  omne  meis. 

solve  metu  patriam,  quae  nunc  te  vindice  freta 
- —   inposuit  prorae  publica  vota  tuae. 
quam  nisi  defendes,  murorum  Romulus  augur 
ire  Palatinas  non  bene  vidit  aves. 
45      et  nimium  remis  audent  prope.     turpe  Latinos 
principe  te  fluctus  regia  vela  pati. 
nee  te,  quod  classis  centenis  remiget  alls, 

45.    Latinos  Marldnnd  Latinis  0. 


Pelops  appeared,  among  other  in- 
stances, when  Agamemnon  was 
punished  by  Apollo  for  carrying 
oii'  the  daughter  of  Chryses. 

34.  egessitque:  i.e.  on  funeral 
biers. — castra:  poetic  hyperbole. 
—  rogis:  dative. 

35.  solvit :  '  relaxed  '  (the  tense 
and  sinuous  form  of  Python). — 
Pythona:  the  fabled  dragon  that 
A|K>llo  slow  near  Delphi. 

36.  lyrae  =  lyristae ;  i.e.  the 
Muses. 

37.  ab  Alba  :  i.e.  from  lulus,  the 
founder  of  Alba  Longa.  For  the 
construction  cf.  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  i. 

38.  Hectoreis:  ' like  Hector,' as 
a  typical  Trojan,  and  so  progenitor 
of  Augustus. 

39.  terra  tua  est :  relatively  true  ; 
sufficiently  so  for  a  poet. 


40.  onus :  the  quiver  and  its 
contents. 

43.  Romulus  augur:  according 
totlie  familiar  story  in  Livy,  i,  6,  4. 

44.  Palatinas  :  •  from  the  Pala- 
tine'; cf.  Ovid,  Fast.  5,  152: 
prima,  Palatinac,  sigiia  ciedisiis, 
aves.  Remus  observed  from  the 
Aventine. 

45.  nimium  .  .  .  prope  :  i.e.  too 
near  to  Rome.  —  audent:  sc 
/lostes. 

46.  principe  :  it  was  in  28  B.C., 
however,  that  Octavian  was  of- 
ficially recognized  as  princeps 
senatus. 

47.  remiget  alis :  Propertius's 
use  of  this  figure  here  is  ambig- 
uous. Most  of  the  commentators, 
disregarding  the  warning  of  Hertz- 
berg,    interpret    alis    as  =  remis., 


359 


6,  48] 


PROPERTI 


terreat :  invito  labitur  ilia  mari; 
quodque  vehunt  prorae  Centaurica  saxa  minantis, 
50  tigna  cava  et  pictos  experiere  metus. 

frangit  et  attollit  vires  in  milite  causa ; 

quae  nisi  iusta  subest,  excutit  arma  pudor. 
tempus  adest,  committe  rates  :  ego  temporis  auctor 

ducam  laurigera  lulia  rostra  manu.' 
55      clixerat,  et  pharetrae  pondus  consumit  in  arcus  : 

proxima  post  arcus  Caesaris  hasta  fuit. 
vincit  Roma  fide  Phoebi :  dat  femina  poenas  : 

sceptra  per  lonias  fracta  vehuntur  aquas, 
at  pater  Idalio  miratur  Caesar  ab  astro : 


and  quote  as  a  parallel  Horn.  Od. 
II,  125  :  ovS  evType  ipeTfjidi,  to.  t€ 
TTTepa.  vr}val  TreAoi/rai;  but  there 
is  no  sufficient  reason  why  we 
should  not  consider  a//s  —  velis 
after  the  usual  metaphor  as  seen 
so  often,  e.g.  Verg.  Aen.  i,  301  : 
remigio  alarum;  Ovid,  A.  A.  2, 
45  :  remigiuin  vol  iter  u  in  dispoiiit  in 
oriihte pettnas ;  Lucr.6, 743  :  retnigi 
flblitae  pennarum  vela  reJiiiitunt. 

48.  invito:  cf.  I,  16,  14.  Asa 
matter  of  fact  the  heavy  weather 
on  the  sea  did  much  to  interfere 
with  the  success  of  the  Egyptian 
fleet;  cf.  Flor.  4.  11,  5:  non  sine 
geviitu  maris  el  labore  ventorum 
ferebaniiir. 

49.  Centaurica  saxa  minantis: 
'  forms  threatening  to  cast  rocks 
like  those  of  the  Centaurs.'  The 
Centaurs  in  combat  were  a  favorite 
subject  of  artistic  representation, 
and  made  a  good  figurehead  for 
the  bulky  ships  of  the  ancients; 
mittantis  is  ace. 


50.  Cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  14.  14: 
nil  pictis  timidus  navita  pjippibus 
fidit. 

53.  committe  rates  =  committe 
proeliiun  navale. 

54.  laurigera  :  cf.  Ovid,  A.  A. 
3,  389 ;  laurigera  sacral  a  Falatia 
Fhoebo. 

55.  pharetrae  pondus:  cf.  Jwc 
onus  ojune  (verse  40)  —  consumit : 
'spent.' 

56.  proxima:  cf.  Hor.  Car.  \, 
12,  18:  nee  viget  quicquam  simile 
ant  secicndian,  proximos  illi  tainen 
occupavit  Pallas  lion  ores. 

57.  femina  :  Propertius  declines 
to  mention  the  name  of  Cleopatra 
as  he  had  declined  before,  in  3,  1 1. 

58.  sceptra  :  a  common  emblem 
of  royal  power,  here  used  of  the 
fleet,  another  such  emblem.  . — 
per  lonias  .  .  .  aquas  :  cf.  Hor. 
Epod.  9.  29-32. 

59.  Idalio  .  .  .  astro :  as  Venus 
was  especially  w-orshiped  at 
Cretan    Idalium,    this    expression 


360 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[6.  n 


60  '  sum  deus  :  est  nostri  sanguinis  ista  fides.' 

prosequitur  cantu  Triton,  omnesque  marinae 

plauserunt  circa  libera  signa  deae. 
ilia  petit  Nilum  cymba  male  nixa  fugaci, 
hoc  unum,  iusso  non  moritura  die. 
65      di  melius  !  quantus  mulier  foret  una  triumphus, 
ductus  erat  per  quas  ante  lugurtha  vias ! 
Actius  hinc  traxit  Phoebus  monumenta,  quod  eius 

una  decem  vicit  missa  sagitta  rates, 
bella  satis  cecini :  citharam  iam  poscit  Apollo 
70  victor  et  ad  placidos  exuit  arma  choros. 

Candida  nunc  molli  subeant  convivia  luco, 


would  most  naturally  refer  to  her 
own  star.  But  as  Julius  Caesar 
had  a  star  of  his  own,  the  comet 
which  appeared  at  the  games  given 
in  his  honor  by  Octavian  (cf-  Suet. 
/til.  88;  Hor.  Car.  i,  12,  46: 
tnicat  inter  omiies  luliuin  sidas), 
Propertius  ought  to  be  referring 
to  that ;  if  so,  he  is  indulging  his 
penchant  for  ambiguity.  —  raira- 
tur:  '  looks  on  admiringly.' 

60.  nostri  sanguinis  ista  fides  : 
'  that  prowess  of  yours  is  proof 
enough  that  you  belong  to  my 
family,'  i.e.  are  an  heir  to  divinity. 
Of  course  Octavian  was  really 
only  an  adopted  son. 

61.  Triton:  it  is  appropriate 
that  the  marine  divinities  lead  in 
proclaiming  the  triumph  of  Rome 
on  the  sea. 

62.  libera  signa  :  '  standards  of 
a  free  state.' 

63.  ilia  :  of.  V.  57,  n.  —  cymba  : 
hyperbole ;    Cleopatra's  returning 


fleet     consisted    of    sixty    ships. 

64.  hoc  unum:  obj.  of  the  pur- 
pose idea  in  moritura,  so  that  the 
main  idea  of  the  verb  becomes  an 
appositive  to  this  phrase ;  a 
unique  construction:  'with  this 
one  thing  in  view,  namely  not  to 
die  on  the  appointed  day'  (/ 6'. 
that  of  a  Roman  triumph). 

65.  melius :  sc.  consuluerunt, 
referring  to  the  idea  of  the  previous 
phrase.  —  quantus:  ironical. 

67.  The  poet  hastens  to  add 
that  it  was  not  for  a  triumph  over 
one  woman  that  Apollo  derived 
his  glory  on  this  occasion,  but  for 
his  divine  archery  in  overcoming 
the  hostile  fleet. 

71.  Candida:  referring  to  the 
participants,  who  would  be  clad  in 
fresh  white  garments;  cf.  Tib.  I, 
10,27  ;  2, 1, 13.  —  convivia:  cf.  Hor. 
Car.  I.  37,  I  :  Nunc  est  bihendutn^ 
opening  the  ode  in  celebration  of 
this  same  victory. 


361 


6,  72] 


PROPERTI 


blanditiaeque  fluant  per  mea  colla  rosae, 
vinaque  fundantur  praelis  elisa  Falernis, 
terque  lavet  nostras  spica  Cilissa  comas. 
75  -  ingenium  potis  inritet  musa  poetis  : 

Bacche,  soles  Phoebo  fertilis  esse  tuo. 
ille  paludosos  memoret  servire  Sycambros, 

Cepheam  hie  Meroen  fuscaque  regna  canat, 
hie  referat  sero  confessum  foedere  Parthum, 
8o  '  reddat  signa  Remi :  mox  dabit  ipse  sua. 

sive  aHquid  pharetris  Augustus  pareet  eois, 

74.   terque  V2  perque  0.       75.    potis  DV  positis  NFL. 


72.  rosae:  collective;  gen. 

73.  Falernis :  of  the  various 
favorite  wines  Propertius  singles 
this  variety  out  for  mention  by 
name  twice  (the  other  passage  is 
2,  33,  39),  but  nowhere  mentions 
Caecuban,  Massic,  Chian,  or  the 
vintage  of  Cales,  apparently  not 
being  such  a  connoisseur  of  wines 
as  Horace. 

74.  spica  Cilissa :  (jiician 
saffron  (cf.  spikenard),  which  was 
especially  choice  when  it  came 
from  Mt.  Corycus  (Plin.  N.H.  21, 
31);  cf.  Ov'xdi,  Fast,  i,  76:  sonet 
accensis  spica  Cilissa  focis. 

75.  Cf.  Enn.  Sat.  64:  nmn- 
quam  poctor  nisi  si  podager  ;  Ovid, 
Met.  7,  432 :  carmina  vino  inge- 
niuin  faciente  canunt. 

76.  Cf.  3,  2,  9;  Tib.  3.  4,  43: 
casta  nam  rite  poetae  Phoebusque 
et  Bacchus  Pieridesque  favent. 

77.  ille  corresponds  to  iiic  .  .  . 
hie  below,  thus  dividing  among 
different  poets  the  gigantic  task  of 
celebrating  all  the  victories  of  Au- 


gustus. —  Sycambros  :  a  powerful 
German  tribe,  north  of  the  Rhine, 
who  are  said  to  have  been  subdued 
in  16  B.C.     \    V-     '■  , 

78.  Cepheam  .  .  .  Meroen  :  Me- 
roe  was  a  famous  Ethiopian  island 
on  the  Nile.  Cepheus,  father  of 
Andromeda,  was  king  of  Ethiopia. 
For  the  campaign  of  Petronius 
there  in  22  B.C.  cf.  4,  3,  10,  n.— 
fusca  :  of  the  inhabitants. 

79.  referat:  'let  him  represent 
as  .  .  .  and  say.'  —  confessum : 
'acknowledging  submission  '  ;  for 
this  absolute  use  cf.  Ovid,  Met.  5, 
215  :  Cfliifcssasqiie  /names  obliqua- 
que  bracchia  tendens  'vincis^  ait. 
The  Parthians  had  surrendered 
the  standards  of  Crassus  in  20  B.C., 
but  Propertius,  like  other  Romans, 
was  anticipating  a  more  complete 
subjugation. 

80.  Remi  =  Romuli;  cf.  4,  1.9. 
82.   in:       'for';       purpose.  — 

pueros :  Gains  and  Lucius  Caesar, 
grandsons  of  Augustus,  whom  he 
had   adopted   in    17   B.C.      Gaius 


362 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[II,   2 


85 


.  differat  in  pueros  ista  tropaea  suos. 
gaude,  Crasse,  nigras  siquid  sapis  inter  arenas 

ire  per  Euphraten  ad  tua  busta  licet.' 
sic  noctem  patera,  sic  ducam  carmine,  donee 

iniciat  radios  in  mea  vina  dies. 


I  I 

Desine,  Paulle,  meum  lacrimis  urgere  sepulcrum : 
panditur  ad  nuUas  ianua  nigra  preces. 


did   actually    lead    an    expedition 
against  the  Parthians  in  2  a.d. 

83.  nigras  :  cf.  3,  7,  56. —  sapis : 
cf.  2,  13,  42- 

84.  per :  '  across  '  to  Carrhae, 
where  Crassus  was  slain. 

4,  II 

This  last  and  finest  of  the  ele- 
gies of  Propertius,  long  known  as 
regiiia  elegiarum^  was  intended  as 
a  consolation  to  L.  Aemilius  Paul- 
lus  Lepidus  (consul  suffectus  34 
B.C.)  nephew  of  the  triumvir  Lepi- 
dus. The  occasion  was  the  un- 
timely death  in  16  B.C.  of  his  wife 
Cornelia,  daughter  of  P.  Cornelius 
Scipio  (said  to  have  been  of  consular 
rank)  and  Scribonia,  the  second 
wife  of  Augustus.  This  connec- 
tion with  the  imperial  family  is 
doubtless  responsible  for  the  elegy. 
It  is  spoken  by  the  deceased  Cor- 
nelia herself  at  her  tomb,  and  may 
have  been  intended  as  a  sepul- 
chral inscription.  The  reference 
in  verses  65  and  66  to  her  brother 
P.  Cornelius  Scipio,  who  was  con- 


sul in  16  B.C.,  fixes  the  date.  In 
dignity,  nobility  of  tone,  and 
genuine  pathos  this  elegy  is  un- 
equaled. 

1-14:  '  Paullus,  burden  not  my 
tomb  with  idle  lamentations ;  the 
-grave  knows  neither  sentiment 
nor  reason.  15-28:  Ye  powers 
below,  listen  to  my  apologia! 
29-66 :  I  have  never  been  un- 
worthy of  my  noble  family  and 
honored  kin.  67-72:  Daughter, 
follow  thy  mother's  example,  and 
win  the  most  glorious  reward 
possible  for  a  woman.  73-84: 
To  you,  Paullus,  I  commend  our 
children  ;  be  to  them  henceforth 
both  mother  and  father.  Bear 
thy  sorrow  bravely,  yet  tenderly. 
85-98  :  And,  my  children,  if 
your  father  bring  you  home  a 
new  mother,  be  kind  and  tactful ; 
but  if  I  remain  his  only  mate, 
keep  him  from  a  lonely  old  age; 
and  may  the  years  I  have  been 
denied  be  added  to  your  lives ; 
that  you  all  are  spared  is  my  con- 
solation.   99-102:  I  rest  my  case.' 


363 


II.  3] 


PROPERTI 


cum  semel  infernas  intrarunt  funera  leges, 

non  exorato  stant  adamante  viae, 
te  licet  ornantem  fuscae  deus  audiat  aulae: 

nempe  tuas  lacrimas  litora  surda  bibent. 
vota  movent  superos  :  ubi  portitor  aera  recepit, 

obserat  herbosos  lurida  porta  rogos. 
sic  maestae  cecinere  tubae,  cum  subdita  nostrum 


I.   urgere:  cf.  Tib.  i,  i,  67,  n. 

—  sepulcrum  :  i.e.  the  spirit  that 
dwells  there.  Cf.  Cat.  96,  i  ; 
PAPA.,  Vol.  30  (1899),  p.  x.xx,  3. 

3.  funera:  cf.  1,17,  8,  n.  Body 
and  soul  are  not  distinguished 
here  better  than  in  our  own  com- 
mon parlance;  cf.,  on  the  distinc- 
tion between  natural  and  philo- 
sophical expression,  W.  A.  Heidel 
in  A.J.  /'..Vol.  33  (1912).  p.  94. 

—  leges:  'jurisdiction.' 

4.  non  exorato  :  '  never  known 
to  yield ,'  and  so  presumably  in- 
exorabili.  —  stant:  cf.  Tib.  i,  i, 
64. —  adamante  viae:  the  poet 
is  thinking  particularly  of  the 
gates  of  the  entrance  to  the 
world  below,  gates  which  never 
open  outwards;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  6, 
552  :  porta  adversa  higens  soli- 
doqiie  adamante  colitmnae  vis  itt 
nulla  .  .  .  exscindere,  etc. 

5.  licet  .  .  .  audiat:  a  suppo- 
sition merely  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment. —  deus :  Pluto.  —  aulae  :  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  2,  18,  30:  rapacis  Orci 
.   .  .  ajila. 

6.  bibent:  cf.  Cat.  66,  85. 

7.  portitor :  Charon.  —  aera : 
the  coin  placed  in  the  mouth  of 


the  deceased  according  to  Greek 
custom,  to  pay  the  ferryman  of  the 
Styx. 

8.  herbosos:  Propertius  mixes 
his  metaphors :  here  he  is  think- 
ing of  the  grass-covered  mound 
of  the  tomb  :  '  beneath  the  sod.'  — 
lurida  porta :  cf.  verse  4,  n. ;  the 
adjective  is  a  favorite  epithet  for 
places  and  things  connected  with 
death;  cf.  Tib.  3,  3,  38.  —  rogos: 
'ashes  '  (from  the  pyre  where  they 
are  produced)  ;  cf.  English  "  Peace 
to  his  ashes.  "  It  is  only  another 
of  the  poet's  euphemisms  for  '  the 
dead,'  and  we  must  not  be  literal  in 
trying  to  conceive  what  he  means 
when  he  says  that  the  gates  of  the 
lower  world  (which  for  the  living 
mourners  are  practically  identical 
with  the  door  of  the  tomb)  bar 
the  ashes  under  the  sod  from  re- 
turning to  living  friends. 

9.  sic :  '  this  was  the  story.' 
—  cecinere:  cf.  Tib.  i,  7,  47. — 
tubae :  used  in  various  ways  in 
connection  with  funeral  cere- 
monies ;  here  represented  as  join- 
ing in  the  loud  wailing  customarily 
raised  when  the  torch  was  applied 
to  the  bier. 


364 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[ll,    21 


lO 


'5 


20 


detraheret  lecto  fax  inimica  caput, 
quid  luihi  coniugium  Paulli,  quid  currus  avorum 

profuit  aut  famae  pignora  tanta  meae? 
num  minus  inmites  habui  Cornelia  parcas  ? 

en  sum  quod  digitis  quinque  levatur  onus, 
damnatae  noctes,  et  vos  vada  lenta  paludes, 

et  quaecumque  meos  inplicat  unda  pedes, 
inmatura  licet,  tamen  hue  non  noxia  veni : 

det  pater  hie  umbrae  mollia  iura  meae. 
aut  siquis  posita  iudex  sedet  Aeacus  urna, 

in  mea  sortita  vindicet  ossa  pila : 
adsideant  fratres  iuxta,  Minoia  sella,  et 


11.    13.    num  FL  nun  V   non    ND,    habui    Jtali  habuit  0.     21.    iuxta  0 
iuxta  et  Itali.     Minoia  0  Minoida  u.     sella  et  V«  sella  FLD  sellani  u. 


10.  lecto :  sc.  fitiiebri.  —  caput : 
'  my  dear  self  ;  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  24, 
2:  tarn  cart  capitis :  Cat.  68,  120. 

11.  quid  .  .  .  profuit:  cf.  3,  18, 
1 1  ;  Ovid,  Her.  11,  17  :  quid  iiivat 
admotatn  per  avorum  no/nina, 
etc.  —  currus :  i.e.  triumphs. 

12.  pignora:  Cornelia's  three 
children. 

13.  Cornelia:  'for  being  a  Cor- 
nelia.' The  succession  of  ques- 
tions in  the  first  person  is  most 
emphatic. 

14.  Cf.  2,  9,  14:  in  parva 
sKstidit  ossa  manu ;  Ovid,  Am.  3, 
9,  40- 

15.  isLTanatae  =  dam;iafor7(;/i ; 
cf.  Tib.  I,  3,  67,  n. — paludes:  cf. 
Verg.  Georg.  4,  478  :  limus  tiiger 
et  deformis  harutido  Cocyti 
tardaqiie  pahis  inamabilis  unda 
alligat. 

17.    inmatura:    the    same    im- 


plication that  an  early  deatli  was 
commonly  considered  a  judgment 
for  wrong-doing  is  seen  in  Tib.  i, 

3,51- 

18.  pater:   Dis,  i.e.  Pluto.;  cf. 

Tac.  Hist.  4,  84 :  plurimi  Ditem 
patrem.  —  hie :  in  Hades.  — 
umbrae  .  .  .  meae :  =  mihi :  so 
mea  .  .  .  ossa  in  v.  20.     Cf.  v.  3,  n. 

19.  siquis  .  .  .  Aeacus:  Cor- 
nelia speaks  thus  indefinitely  as 
one  who  has  yet  learned  practically 
nothing  of  the  order  of  things  in- 
fernal. It  was  from  the  time  of 
Plato  that  the  prevalent  idea  of 
this  bench  of  triple  judgment  in 
the  lower  world  dated. 

20.  sortita  :  passive.  —  vindi- 
cet: 'pass  judgment.'  —  pila:  in- 
strumental in  force :  '  in  the  use 
of  the  [white  or  black]  ball.' 

21.  fratres:  Minos  and  Rhad- 
amanthus.  who  were  joint  judges 


365 


II,    22] 


PROPERTI 


Eumenidiim  intento  turba  severa  foro. 
Sisyphe,  mole  vaces,  taceant  Ixionis  orbes, 
fallax  Tantaleus  corripiare  liquor, 
25      Cerberus  et  nullas  hodie  petat  inprobus  umbras, 
et  iaceat  tacita  lapsa  catena  sera. 
ipsa  loquar  pro  me.     si  fallo,  poena  sororum 
infelix  umeros  urgeat  urna  meos. 
~-  sicui  fama  fuit  per  avita  tropaea  decori, 
30  Afra  Numantinos  regna  loquuntur  avos, 

altera  maternos  exaequat  turba  Libones, 

24.   Tantaleus  <o  Tantaleo  0.     corripiare  0  corripere  ore  Auratus. 


with  Aeacus  in  the  lower  world  ; 
the  first  two,  sons  of  Europa,  the 
last,  of  Aegina,  and  all  sons  of 
Zeus. — Minoia  :  singled  out  for 
convenience,  instead  of  a  repetition 
of  two  or  three  names.  —  sella: 
'  bench ' ;  in  apposition  ^N'whfr aires. 

22.  Eumenidum  :  who  executed 
punishment.  —  intento  .  .  .  foro : 
used  for  the  crowd  of  spectators 
(•shades')  eagerly  watching  the 
verdict.  —  turba :  sc.  adsint  or 
adstent,  as  adsideant  would  hardly 
be  in  keeping  with  the  conception 
here. 

23-26.  Cf.  Tib.  I.  3,  71-78,  and 
nn.  The  thought  is  that  such 'a 
trial  will  l)e  of  absorbing  interest 
to  all  in  the  lower  world.  Cf. 
Verg.  Georg.  4,  481  :  quin  ipsae 
siitpiwre  diunns  .  .  .  Tartara  .  .  . 
Euinenuies,  temdtqiie  .  .  .  Cer- 
berus  or  a,  at  que  Ixionii  .  .  .  rota 
constitit  orbis. 

25.  Cerberus  :  cf.  3,  18,  23,  n. 

26.  lapsa :  because  of  Cerberus's 


inactivity.  —  sera:  the  bolt  will 
not  make  any  noise  because  the 
door  will  stand  open,  or  because 
it  may  be  shut  continuously  during 
the  absorbing  trial  of  Cornelia. 

27.  si  fallo  :  the  historic  formula 
in  oaths  was,  si  sciens  fallo :  cf. 
Cic.  Ad  Fain.  7,  1,2. — sororum: 
the  Danaides. 

28.  infelix  .  .  .  urna:  cf,  2,  31, 
4,  n. 

29.  fama  .  .  .  per  .  .  .  tropaea : 
a  Propertian  liberty  of  construction. 

30.  Afra  .  .  .  regna :  i.e.  the 
kingdom  of  Carthage,  which  in- 
cluded Numantia.  —  Numantinos 
.  .  .  avos:  P.  Cornelius  Scipio 
Africanus,  the  younger,  took  Nu- 
mantia, 133  B.C. 

31.  altera:  'on  the  other  side 
of  the  house.'  —  Libones  :  L.  Scri- 
bonius  Libo,  her  uncle,  was  not 
an  unusually  distinguished  person  , 
probably  she  is  hinting  rather  at 
Scribonia's  fame  for  having  mar- 
ried into  the  imperial  family. 


366 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   IV 


[ii,  41 


et  domus  est  titulis  utraque  fulta  suis. 
mox,  ubi  iam  facibus  cessit  praetexta  maritis, 

vinxit  et  acceptas  altera  vitta  comas, 
35      iungor,  Paulle,  tuo  sic  discessura  cubili : 

in  lapide  hoc  uni  nupta  fuisse  legar. 
testor  maiorum  cineres  tibi,  Roma,  colendos, 

sub  quorum  titulis,  Africa,  tunsa  iaces, 
te,  Perseu,  proavi  simulantem  pectus  Achilli, 
40  quique  tuas  proavo  f regit  Achille  domos, 

me  neque  censurae  legem  mollisse  nee  ulla 

37.  colendos  0  verendos  w.  38.  tunsa  0  tonsa  w.  39.  te  Sanlen  et  0. 
Perseu  Sanien  Pcrsen  LFj  pseu  F  Persem  NDV.  simulantem  to  stimulan- 
tem  0.  Achilli  0  Achillis  V2  Achille  Lipsius.  40.  tuas  0  tumens  Postgate 
et  tumidas  Heyne. 


32.  titulis:  strictly,  the  in- 
scriptions placed  beneath  the 
masks  of  the  family  ancestors, 
which  were  kept  in  the  atrium ; 
here  used  for  the  famous  ancestors 
themselves  as  an  illustrious  line. 

33.  praetexta:  the  purple- 
bordered  garment  of  childhood, 
whicli  girls  laid  aside  at  marriage. 

34.  altera  vitta  :  i.e.  the  dress- 
ing of  the  hair  in  the  mode  of  the 
sex  crines  according  to  tlie  custom 
of  Roman  matrons. 

35.  sic  discessura  :  cf.  the  for- 
mula, "till  death  us  do  part." 

36.  lapide  hoc  suggests  the 
use  of  this  elegy  as  a  sepulchral 
inscription.  —  uni  nupta  :  regarded 
as  a  special  glory  to  a  woman  :  cf. 
CIL.  6,  14404,  8  :  dicer  is  cofiittnxs 
ttna  fuisse  viri. 

38.  sub  .  .  .  titulis  .  .  .  iaces : 
perhaps  the  poet  is  thinking  of 
some  artistic  representation  of  the 


humiliation  of  Carthage,  with  suit- 
able inscriptions  ;  but  titulis  may 
be  used  here  much  as  in  verse  32. 

39.  te  .  .  .  quique  .  .  .  fregit 
=  euin  qui  te  .  .  .  et  .  .  .  fregit. 
Cornelia  is  appealing  to  another 
illustrious  member  of  her  family, 
Aemilius  Paullus,  who  was  con- 
queror of  Perseus,  and  the  father 
of  the  Scipio  Numantinus  of  verse 
30,  who  came  into  the  Cornelian 
family  by  adoption.  — proavi :  Per- 
seus traced  his  descent  through 
Pyrrhus  to  Achilles.  —  simulantem 
pectus :  '  making  a  bluff  at  the 
spirit.'  —  Achilli :  one  of  the  sev- 
eral variant  forms  for  this  gen. 

40.  proavo  .  .  Achille:  scorn- 
fully concessive. 

41 .  censurae  legem :  '  the  strict- 
ness of  the  Censor's  ideal.'  Her 
husband,  Paullus,  was  one  of  the 
Censors  in  22  B.C.,  but  disagreed 
with  his  c;olleague  L.  Munatius ; 


367 


VI,   42] 


PROPERTI 


50 


labe  mea  vestros  erubuisse  focos. 
non  fuit  exuviis  tantis  Cornelia  damnum, 

quin  erat  et  magnae  pars  imitanda  domus. 
nee  mea  mutata  est  aetas,  sine  crimine  totast 

viximus  insignes  inter  utramque  facem. 
mi  natura  dedit  leges  a  sanguine  ductas, 

ne  possem  melior  iudicis  esse  metu. 
quaelibet  austeras  de  me  ferat  urna  tabellas : 

turpior  adsessu  non  erit  ulla  meo, 
vel  tu,  quae  tardam  movisti  fune  Cybeben, 

Claudia,  turritae  rara  ministra  deae, 
vel  cuius,  sacros  cum  Vesta  reposceret  ignes, 


48.  ne  possem  ta  ne  possim  Vo  ne  possis  0  nee  Scaliger.  51.  Cybeben 
Lachtnann  Cybellem  NDV  Cibelem  FL.  53.  cuius  sacros  Kothstein  cuius 
ras(^s   0  cui    commissos   <o   cui   iuratos   Phillimore. 


cf.  Veil.  Pat.  2,  95,  3.  —  mollisse: 
'  gave  occasion  to  tone  down.'' 

43.  exuviis  : /.t'. 'glory.'  —  Cor- 
nelia :  '  a  Cornelia.'' 

44.  t\.  =  etiatn:  'even.' 

45.  aetas:  cf.  i,  6,  21.  n. 

46.  utramque  facem :  the  torch 
of  the  wedding  procession  and 
that  with  which  the  funeral  pyre 
was  kindled.  Cf.  Ovid.  Fast.  2, 
561  :  conde  titas,  Hyr/ieiiaee,  faces 
et  ab  ignibns  atris  auferl  habent 
alias  maesta  sepiilcra  faces. 

49.  quaelibet  .  .  .  urna :  i.e. 
whatever  court,  no  matter  how 
strict.  —  tabellas :  the  votes  of  the 
judges  (jury)  :  these  would  be 
marked  either  C  {co)ideiuno),  A 
(^absolt'o),  or  N  L  {no/i  liquet). 

50.  It  was  the  custom  for  friends 
to  sit  beside  the  accused  at  trials. 


51.  tu  :  Claudia  Quinta,  a  vestal 
virgin  accused  of  unchastity,  who, 
when  the  image  of  Cybele  was 
being  brought  to  Rome,  was  able, 
after  praying  to  the  goddess,  to 
move  the  boat,  which  had  grounded 
in  the  Tiber,  and  was  thus  vindi- 
cated;  cf.  Suet.  Tib.  7.. — tardam: 
referring  to  the  boat  carrying  the 
sacred  images  and  mysteries  of 
the  goddess. 

52.  turritae :  referring  to  the 
mural  crown  worn  by  the  goddess 
as  guardian  of  cities. 

53.  cuius:  sc  ilia.  Aemilia,  a 
virgfl  vestalis  7naxi/na,  who  al- 
lowed the  sacred  fire  to  go  out, 
was  vindicated  when  her  linen 
garment,  which  she  had  thrown 
upon  the  hearth,  sprang  into  flame. 
Cf.  Val.  Max.  i,  i,  7. 


368 


ELEGIARVM    LIBER   IV 


[ii,  66 


exhibuit  vivos  carbasus  alba  focos. 
55      nee  te,  dulce  caput,  mater  Scribonia,  laesi : 
in  me  mutatum  quid  nisi  fata  velis  ? 
maternis  laudor  lacrimis  urbisque  querellis, 

defensa  et  gemitu  Caesaris  ossa  mea. 
ille  sua  nata  dignam  vixisse  sororem 
60  increpat,  et  lacrimas  vidimus  ire  deo. 

et  tamen  emerui  generosos  vestis  honores, 
.—  nee  mea  de  sterili  facta  rapina  domo. 
tu,  Lepide,  et  tu,  Paulle,  meum  post  fata  levamen  : 
eondita  sunt  vestro  lumina  nostra  sinu. 
65      vidimus  et  fratrem  sellam  geminasse  eurulem  ; 
consul  quo  faetus  tempore,  rapta  soror. 

66.   consul   quo  faetus  Lachmann  consule  quo  facto  0   festo   Koppiers. 


54.  alba:  the  prescribed  dress 
of  the  vestals  was  white.  —  focos  = 
ignes. 

55.  caput :  here  =  '•  heart ' ;  cf. 
verse  10,  n. — Scribonia  :  she  had 
been  divorced  from  Augustus  since 
39  BC. 

56.  A  common  phrase  in  se- 
pulchral inscriptions  is :  de  qua 
vir  nil  doluit  nisi  mortem. 

58.  ossa  :  cf.  verse  20. 

59.  nata  :  Julia,  the  daughter 
of  Augustus  by  Scribonia.  The 
poet  carefully  ignores  the  scandal- 
ous looseness  of  Julia's  character, 
which  was  no  credit  to  Cornelia. 
—  sororem:  Cornelia,  half-sister, 
daughter  of  Cornelius  and  Scri- 
bonia. 

60.  increpat :  '  complains ' ;  fol- 
lowed by  the  inf.  also  in  3,  10, 
10.  —  deo:  cf.  3,  4,  I,  n. 


61.  emerui  .  .  .  honores  :  i.e.  as 
the  mother  of  their  children,  'I 
have  earned  the  right  to  wear  the 
stola  of  honor'  (supposed  to  be 
awarded  to  those  mothers  who 
thus  had  fulfilled  the  condition  of 
the  ius  trium  liberorum) .  —  gene- 
rosos: by  hypallage  for  generosae. 

63.  Lepide  .  .  .  Paulle :  the  sons 
who  were  to  perpetuate  the  family 
name.  The  former,  who  was  the 
younger,  was  consul  in  6  a.d. 
The  latter,  consul  in  r  a.d..  mar- 
ried Julia,  the  daughter  of  Agrippa. 

64.  eondita  :  '  closed.' 

65.  fratrem: P.Cornelius Scipio. 
—  geminasse  :  '  occupy  a  second 
time.'  He  was  consul  in  16  B.C.  and 
had  presumably  been  praetor  al- 
ready, as  it  was  no  longer  necessary 
to  precede  the  major  offices  with 
the  curule  aedileship. 


ROM.  EL.  POETS  —  24 


369 


n,  67] 


PROPERTI 


70 


75 


filia,  tu  specimen  censurae  nata  paternae, 

fac  teneas  unum  nos  imitata  virum, 
et  serie  f  ulcite  genus  :  mihi  cymba  volenti 

solvitur  aucturis  tot  mea  fata  meis. 
haec  est  feminei  merces  extrema  triumphi, 

laudat  ubi  emeritum  libera  fama  rogum. 
nunc  tibi  commendo  communia  pignora  nates 

hac  cura  et  cineri  spirat  inusta  meo. 
fungere  maternis  vicibus,  pater :  ilia  meorum 

omnis  erit  collo  turba  ferenda  tuo. 
oscula  cum  dederis  tua  flentibus,  adice  matris: 

tota  domus  coepit  nunc  onus  esse  tuum. 
et  siquid  doliturus  eris,  sine  testibus  illis : 


70.   aucturis  «  uncturis  LDV  nupturis  F. 


67.  filia :  Lepida  was  probably 
born  in  the  year  of  her  father's 
censorship,  22  B.C.  —  specimen: 
how  much  Cornelia  meant  by  this 
expression  it  is  difficult  to  tell. 
The  daughter's  birth  at  that  time, 
her  likeness  to  her  parents  as  an 
indication  that  her  father  and 
mother  practiced  what  they 
preached,  and  a  model  life  to 
follow  —  all  these  at  least  may 
have  been  in  her  mother's  mind. 

69.  serie:  i.e.  of  descendants. 
—  fulcite :  Cornelia  is  now  speak- 
ing to  all  three  of  her  children  ; 
cf.  Sen.  Rhetor,  Ccnitr.  2.  i,  7:  iion 
tibi  per  multos  pilta  liber os  domus 
est.  Cf.  English  '•  pillar  of  the 
church."  —  cymba:  Charon's. 

70.  aucturis  .  .  .  mea  fata : '  des- 
tined to  add  luster  to  my  fame ' ; 
the  abl.  abs.  is  causal. 


71.  feminei  .  .  .  triumphi:  the 
only  triumphal  procession  a  woman 
could  have  was  that  of  a  funeral 
like  Cornelia's. 

72.  emeritum  .  .  .  rogum :  cf. 
verse  8,  n.  —  libera  fama :  '  repute 
freely  expressed.' 

73.  tibi:  she  turns  to  her  hus- 
band. 

74.  spirat :  '  lives  on.'  —  inusta : 
cf.  Cic.  Ver.  2,  i,  113:  cur  hunc 
dolorein  cineri  eius  atque  ossibus 
inussisti?  Butler  cites  Gray's 
Elegy:  " Ev'n  in  our  ashes  live 
their  wonted  fires." 

75.  Cf.  Eurip.  Ale.  377  :  crv  vvv 
yevou  TotcrS'  avT  ifiov  fxrjTTqp  tIk- 
vots. 

76.  turba:  cf.  verses  31  and 
98. 

79.  sine  testibus  illis :  sc. 
dole. 


370 


ELEGIARVM   LIBER   IV 


[II,  89 


80 


85 


cum  venient,  siccis  oscula  falle  genis. 
sat  tibi  sint  noctes  quas  dc  me,  Paulle,  fatiges, 

somniaque  in  faciem  credita  saepe  meam  : 
atque  ubi  secreto  nostra  ad  simulacra  loqueris, 

ut  responsurae  singula  verba  tace. 
seu  tamen  adversum  mutarit  ianua  lectum, 

sederit  et  nostro  cauta  noverca  toro, 
coniugium,  pueri,  laudate  et  ferte  paternum : 

capta  dabit  vestris  moribus  ilia  manus. 
nee  matrem  laudate  nimis  :  conlata  priori 


84.    tace  0  iace  o». 


80.  oscula  =  eos  osctdatites. 
Paullus  is  to  maintain  cheerfulness 
for  his  children's  sake. 

81.  quas  .  .  .  fatiges:  '  to  pass 
in  sleepless  weariness.'  By  day 
he  must  take  up  life's  burdens. 

82.  '  And  the  visions  in  which 
you  believe  you  see  my  face.' 

83.  simulacra:  likenesses  of 
wax  or  marble,  in  lieu  of  the 
modern  photograph.  Cf.  Ovid, 
Her.  13,  157- 

84.  ut  responsurae :  'as  if  you 
expected  me  to  reply.' — singula 
verba  tace :  he  is  to  make  it  like  a 
conversation  rather  than  an  ad- 
dress. 

85.  seu  corresponds  to  the  seu 
in  verse  91.  —  tamen:  i.e.  in  spite 
of  such  matrimonial  love  as  now 
exists  between  us,  Paullus  and 
Cornelia.  —  adversum  .  .  .  lectum : 
the  marriage  bed  {lectiis  ^^eiiialis') 
at  times  of  weddings  stood  in  the 
back  part  of  the  atrium  directly 
opposite    the    front    door.     Long 

37 


before  this  period  this  bed  (which 
in  more  primitive  times  probably 
also  served  as  a  sofa  in  the  day- 
time) was  usually  removed  to  a 
cubicitluni  after  the  wedding  cere- 
monies were  entirely  completed, 
and  in  its  place  stood  the  sofa 
which  was  the  special  seat  of 
honor  of  the  uiaterfamilias  {lecttis 
achiersiisy,  cf.  Ascon.  Mil.  (K.  and 
S.)  p.  38:  iDiagines  .  .  .  triaiorum 
deiecerunt  et  lectidum  adversum 
uxor  is  eius  Corneliae  .  .  .  frege- 
runt;  Laberius,  Compitalia:  mater- 
fai/nlias  tua  i>i  lecto  adverso  sedet. 
—  mutarit  ianua:  with  poetic 
license  Propertius  makes  the  door 
responsible  for  the  changes  in- 
volved in  arranging  the  furniture 
for  a  new  marriage  and  admitting 
a  new  bride. 

87.  pueri:  'children.' 

88.  dabit  .  .  .  manus:  the  im- 
agery is  military  :  '  will  surrender' 
(^i.e.  her  heart). 

89.  conlata :  hypothetical. 
I 


II.  90, 


PROPERTI 


90         vertet  in  offensas  libera  verba  suas. 

seu  memor  ille  mea  contentus  manserit  umbra 

et  tanti  cineres  duxerit  esse  meos, 
discite  venturam  iam  nunc  sentire  senectam, 
caelibis  ad  curas  nee  vacet  ulla  via. 
95     quod  mihi  detractum  est,  vestros  accedat  ad  annos : 
prole  mea  Paullum  sic  iuvet  esse  senem. 
et  bene  habet :  numquam  mater  lugubria  sumpsi : 

venit  in  exequias  tota  caterva  meas. 
causa  perorata  est.     flentes  me  surgite,  testes, 
icxD         dum  pretium  vitae  grata  rependit  humus, 
moribus  et  caelum  patuit :  sim  digna  merendo, 
cuius  honoratis  ossa  vehantur  aquis. 

93.  sentire  0  lenire  Schrader.      102.   aquis  NFLVo  equis  DV  avis  Heinsius. 


90.  vertet  in:  'will  interpret 
them  to  imply." 

93.  nunc  :  with  sentire.  —  sen- 
tire :  '■  to  realize  ' ;  cf.  Ovid.  A.  A. 
3,  59  :  veiitiirae  niemores  iatn  nunc 
eslote  senectae. 

94.  nee  vacet  ulla  via :  '  and 
leave  him  no  access.' 

95.  quod :  so.  tempus.  Cf.  Tib. 
I,  6.  63 :  proprios  ego  tecum, 
sit  modo  fas,  annos  contribuisse 
velim. 

96.  prole  mea :  a  Propertian 
abl.  The  idea  is  essentially 
causal,  however  the  grammar  is 
to  be  explained.  —  sic  :  i.e.  if  you 
are  so  spared  to  comfort  him. 

97.  bene  habet :  '  I  am  con- 
tent.' —  lugubria  sumpsi :  *  put  on 
mourning.' 


99.  flentes  .  .  .  testes  :  Cornelia 
seems  at  least  to  include  her 
family  with  those  previously  cited. 

100.  dum :  •  while ' ;  she  assumes 
a  favorable  verdict.  —  humus  :  i.e. 
the  lower  world. 

10 1.  moribus  =  bene  mar  at  is. — 
et :  '  even.' 

102.  honoratis  .  .  .  vehantur 
aquis  :  '  to  ride  in  triumph  over  the 
dark  waters ' ;  i.e.  to  the  Elysian 
fields  rather  than  to  a  place  of 
punishment.  Cf.  4,  7,  55  sqq. : 
na>/i  gemina  est  secies  turpem  sor- 
tita  per  amtiem,  turbaqiie  diversa 
remigat  omnis  aqua,  una  Clytae- 
mttestrae  stuprum  vehit  .  .  .  ecce 
corofiato  pars  altera  vecta  phaselo, 
mulcet  ubi Elysias  aura  beatarosas^ 
etc. 


372 


OVID  MSS.   SIGNS 


For  the 
At/iores 


For  the 
Heroides 


For  the 
Trii/ia 


P  =  Codex  Puteanus. 
R  =  Codex  Regius. 
•  S  =  Codex  Sangallensis. 

0  =  Consensus  of  PRS. 

(i>  =  late  or  inferior  Mss.,  or  corrections. 

P  =  Codex  Puteanus. 

G  =  Codex  Guelferbytanus. 

V  =  Schedae  Vindobonenses. 

01  ==  late  or  inferior  Mss.,  or  corrections. 

'A  =  Codex  Marcianus  Politiani. 
L  =  Codex  Laurentianus. 
G  =  Codex  Guelferbytanus. 
H  =  Codex  Holkhamicus. 
P  =  Codex  Palatinus. 

V  =  Codex  Vaticanus. 

(0  =  late  or  inferior  Mss.,  or  corrections. 


374 


p.    OVIDI    NASONIS 


AMORVM 


LIBER    PRIMVS 


EPIGRAMMA    IPSIVS 

Qui  modo  Nasonis  fueramus  quinque  libelli, 
tres  sumus  :  hoc  illi  praetulit  auctor  opus  ; 

ut  iam  nulla  tibi  nos  sit  legisse  voluptas, 
at  levior  demptis  poena  duobus  erit. 


Arma  gravi  numero  violentaque  bella  parabam 
edere,  materia  conveniente  modis  ; 


AMORES 

Epigramma  Ipsius  :  there  is  no 
reason  tp  doubt  the  genuineness  of 
this  epigram  thus  prefixed  to  the 
first  book  of  the  Ainores.  —  Na- 
sonis :  Ovid  is  fond  of  callinsf 
himself  by  his  cognomen  ;  cf.  Am. 
2,  I,  2;  Trist.  §,  13,  I  ;  etc. — 
quinque  :  an  earlier  edition  of  the 
Amoves  was  published  in  five 
books.  Ovid  later  withdrew 
some  of  his  more  youthful  efforts 
from  circulation  and  published  the 
existing  edition  in  three  books. 
Cf.  Cicero's  change  of  plan  in 
the  Academica. — libelli:  a  term 
of  modesty.  —  hoc  illi : '  the  present 
to  the  earlier.'  —  ut :    'even  if.'  — 


I,    I,    29,    n. 


legisse  :  cf.  Tib. 
I,  1 
1-4  :  '  I  essayed  heroic  strains, 
but  Cupid  drove  me  to  elegy.  5-20: 
"  Who  gave  you  the  right  to  inter- 
fere?" I  complained,  "let  every 
cobbler  stick  to  his  last."  21-26: 
But  he  drew  his  unerring  bow  at  me, 
and  now  love  rules  my  heart ;  27- 
30  :  so  elegy  is  my  province.'  Cf. 
2,  I,  II  sqq.  :    Prop.  3,  3. 

1 .  gravi  numero  :  the  hexam- 
eter;  cf.  modis  (v.  2)  (of  the  mel- 
ody) and  inferior  versus  (v.  3) 
{i.e.  the  second  of  a  couplet)  for  a 
variety  of  expression  of  the  gen- 
eral idea. 

2.  edere:  'to  produce.' 


375 


I,  3] 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


lO 


15 


par  erat  inferior  versus  :  risisse  Cupido 

dicitur  atque  unum  surripuisse  pedem. 
'quis  tibi,  saeve  puer,  dedit  hoc  in  carmina  iuris  ? 

Pieridum  vates,  non  tua  turba  sumus. 
quid,  si  praeripiat  flavae  Venus  arma  Minervae, 

ventilet  accensas  flava  Minerva  faces? 
quis  probet  in  silvis  Cererem  regnare  iugosis, 

lege  pharetratae  virginis  arva  coli  ? 
crinibus  insignem  quis  acuta  cuspide  Phoebum 

instruat,  Aoniam  Marte  movente  lyram  ? 
sunt  tibi  magna,  puer,  nimiumque  potentia  regna : 

cur  opus  adfectas,  ambitiose,  novum  ? 
an,  quod  ubique,  tuum  est  ?  tua  sunt  Heliconia  Tempe  ? 

vix  etiam  Phoebo  iam  lyra  tuta  suast  ? 
cum  bene  surrexit  versu  nova  pagina  prime, 

attenuat  nervos  proximus  ille  meos ; 


4.  unum  .  .  .  pedem  :  i.e.  the 
two  half  feet  which  the  pentam- 
eter lacks,  as  compared  with  the 
hexameter.  —  surripuisse:  the 
poet  was  taken  unawares,  like 
Apollo  when  Hermes  stole  his 
cattle. 

5.  saeve :  a  common  epithet 
for  Cupid  in  the  elegiac  writers  ; 
cf.  Tib.  3,  4,  65.  —  in  carmina: 
this  construction  with  ins  is  not 
infrequent  in  the  poets. 

6.  vates  :  cf.  Am.  3,  9.  17. 

7.  flavae :  so  Minerva  is  de- 
scribed, e.g.  in  Fast.  6, 652  ;  Trist. 
I,  10,  I. 

8.  ventilet    .    .    .    faces:     cf. 

Prop.  4,3' 50- n- 

9.  in  silvis  .  .   .  regnare :   i.e. 

attempt  the  task  of  Diana. 


11.  crinibus:  cf.  Tib.  2,  5,  8; 
Prop.  3,  13,  52:  intonsi  Pythia 
regna  dei.  —  cuspide  :  the  spear 
(of  Mars) ;  the  term  is  common  in 
the  poets. 

12.  Aoniam:  cf.  Prop,  i,  2, 
28,  n. 

13.  nimiumque  potentia  :  '  and 
all  too  powerful.'' 

15.    '  Do  you"  want  the  earth  "?' 

—  Heliconia  Tempe  :  the  beautiful 
Thessalian  valley  through  which 
ran  the  Peneios  here  becomes 
typical,  and  the  poet  means  the 
beautiful  regions  where  dwell  the 
Muses,  who  were  commonly 
located  on  Helicon. 

17.  surrexit:    i.e.  'started  oflF.' 

—  pagina  :  sc.  jnea. 

18.  ille:  Cupid. 


376 


AMORVM    LIBER   I 


[3,  2 


20 


25 


3° 


nec  mihi  materia  est  numeris  levioribus  apta, 

aut  puer,  aut  longas  compta  puella  comas.' 
questus  eram,  pharetra  cum  protinus  ille  soluta 

legit  in  exitium  spicula  facta  meum 
lunavitque  genu  sinuosum  fortiter  arcum, 

'  quod  '  que  '  canas,  vates,  accipe  '  dixit  '  opus  !  * 
me  miserum!  certas  habuit  puer  ille  sagittas  : 

uror,  et  in  vacuo  pectore  regnat  Amor, 
sex  mihi  surgat  opus  numeris,  in  quinque  residat : 

ferrea  cum  vestris  bella  valete  modis  ! 
cingere  litorea  flaventia  tempora  myrto, 

Musa  per  undenos  emodulanda  pedes! 


lusta  precor.     quae  me  nuper  praedata  puellast, 
aut  amet,  aut  faciat  cur  ego  semper  amem  ! 


19.  nec  :  adversative  ;  the  nega- 
tive force  is  carried  over  to  the 
correlatives  aut  in  the  following 
verse.  —  numeris  levioribus  :  elegy. 

20.  longas :  cf.  Am  3,  3,  3 : 
quain  longos  habuit  nonduiii 
periura  capillos. 

22.    in  exitium  :  purpose  ace. 

25.  Cf.  Prop.  2,  12,  9-12  ;  13,2. 

26.  vacuo  :  '  hitherto  fancy- 
free  ' ;  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  6.  19: 
cantafiius,  vacui,  sive  quid 
uritmir, 

27.  Cf.  Schiller's  couplet : 

fm  Hexatfieter  steigt  des  Spring- 
quells  fl'ussige  Sdule, 

Im  Pentameter  drajif  f'dllt  sie 
melodisch  herab  ; 

and  Coleridge's  Lnglish  version  : 


"  In  the  hexameter  rises  the  foun- 
tain's silvery  column. 
In  the   pentameter  aye   falling  in 
melody  back." 

29.  cingere :  the  imperative  used 
reflexively.  —  litorea:  cf.  Mart.  4, 
13,6:  lit  or  a  myrius  amat :  for 
the  myrtle  as  sacred  to  Venus  cf. 
A.  A.  3,  53:  dixit  ct  e  myrto 
{myrto  nam  vincta  capillos  consti- 
terat)  folium  granaque  pauca 
dedit. 

I,  3 
A  model   love  letter  of  an  ar- 
dent,  though   still    somewhat  shy 
lover,  who  does  not  even  mention 
the  name  of  his  flame. 

1-4:  'May  Venus  favor  my 
suit!      4-10:  Accept  me,  lady,  as 


^77 


3.  3] 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


ah,  nimium  volui !  tantum  patiatur  amari : 

audierit  nostras  tot  Cytherea  preces ! 
5       accipe,  per  longos  tibi  qui  deserviat  annos, 

accipe,  qui  pura  norit  amare  fide ! 
si  me  non  veterum  commendant  magna  parentum 

nomina,  si  nostri  sanguinis  auctor  eques, 
nee  meus  innumeris  renovatur  campus  aratris, 
lo  temperat  et  sumptus  parens  uterque  parens : 

at  Phoebus  comitesque  novem  vitisque  repertor 

hinc  faciunt  at,  me  qui  tibi  donat,  Amor, 
at  nulH  cessura  fides,  sine  crimine  mores 

nudaque  simpUcitas  purpureusque  pudor. 

3.    12.  hinc  Merkel  h&tc  PS  hac  Palmer,   at  me  Aferkel  ut  me  P  et  me  S. 
13.    at  Ehwald  e.i  0. 


your  lover,  though  I  bring  you 
neither  nobility,  nor  wealth ; 
1 1-16  :  but  I  have  the  favor  of  the 
gods,  fidelity  and  constancy. 
17-26:  Love  me,  live  with  me; 
and  I  will  make  your  name  as  well 
known  throughout  the  world  as 
the  names  of  the  heroines  of  old.' 

1.  praedata  ...  est :  '  has  cap- 
tivated me';  cf.  Ai>!.  i,  2,  19: 
iua  Slim  nova  praeda,  Ciipido. 

2.  amet :  his  petition  to  Venus 
is  in  the  third  person,  appropri- 
ately, in  an  address  to  his  lady  love. 

3.  tantum:  'simply.' 

4.  Cytherea:  cf.  At>i.  2.  17,4. 

5.  accipe:  the  poet  addresses 
the  unknown  lady,  whose  shadowy 
personality  receives  the  name  Co- 
rinna  first  in  i,  5,  9. 

7.  With  this  passage  cf.  Prop. 
3,  2,  II  sqq. 

8.  eques  :  Ovid  was  proud  that 


his  equestrian  rank  was  not  of  the 
parvenu  type;  cf.  Am.  3,  15,  5; 
and  Trist.  4,  10,  7,  to  which  he 
adds  :  no)i  modo  fortunae  tnunere 
fact  lis  eques. 

g.  renovatur  :  cf.  Tib.  3,  3,  5,  n  ; 
Prop.  3,  5,  5. 

10.  But  the  poet's  biography  in 
Trist.  4,  10,  and  the  manner  of  his 
life  at  Rome  do  not  indicate 
straitened  circumstances.  Cf.  Tib. 
I.  I.  5,  n. 

11.  comitesque  novem:  the 
Muses. — ^ vitisque  repertor:  Bac- 
chus, who  also  inspired  poetry  and 
song;  cf.  Tib.  i,  7,  29,  n.  ;  Prop. 
4,  I,  62. 

12.  hinc  faciunt:  'are  on  ray 
side  ' ;  cf.  Cic.  Ad  Att.  7,  3,  5  : 
dignos  illinc  facere. 

14.  purpureusque  pudor:  i.e. 
modesty  such  as  would  cause  a 
'rosy  blush';    cf.  Am.  2,  5,  34- 


2J^ 


AMORVM    LIBER   I 


[15.  2 


15      non  mihi  mille  placent,  non  sum  desultor  amoris : 
tu  mihi,  siqua  fides,  cura  perennis  eris. 
tecum,  quos  dederint  annos  mihi  fila  sororum, 

vivere  contingat,  teque  dolente  mori ; 
te  mihi  materiem  felicem  in  carmina  praebe : 
20  provenient  causa  carmina  digna  sua. 

carmine  nomen  habent  exterrita  cornibus  lo 

et  quam  fluminea  lusit  adulter  ave 
quaeque  super  pontum  simulate  vecta  iuvenco 
virginea  tenuit  cornua  vara  manu  : 
25      nos  quoque  per  totum  pariter  cantabimur  orbem, 
iunctaque  semper  erunt  nomina  nostra  tuis. 


15 

Quid  mihi,  Livor  edax,  ignavos  obicis  annos 
ingeniique  vocas  carmen  inertis  opus ; 


conscia  purpioeus    venit    in    ora 
pit  dor. 

15.  desultor:  the  figure  is  from 
the  circus  rider  wlio  leaped  from 
one  horse  to  another;  cf.  Prop.  4, 
2,  36  :  traicit  alterno  qui  leve  pon- 
dus  eqiio. 

16.  cura  :  cf.  3,  3,  32,  n. 

17.  fila  sororum  :  cf.  Hor.  Car. 
2,3,15:  ditDt  res  et  aetas  et  sorortt//! 
fila  triiim  patiioitur  atra. 

19.  in  carmina  :  purpose  ace. 

20.  causa  =  mater ie :  cf.  Prop. 
2,  I,  12:  iiivenio  caitsas  mille 
poeta  novas. 

21.  cornibus  lo  :  cf.  Prop.  2,  28, 
17,  n. 

22.  quam  :  Leda,  wooed  by  Jup- 
piter  {adulter^  in  the  form  of  a 
swan  (Jiuntinea  .   .   .  ave). 


23.    quaeque  :  Europa ;  cf.  Prop. 
2,  28.  52,  n. 

25.    Cf.  A>n.  I,  15,  8. 

I,  15 

The  poet  justifies  his  profession. 

1-6:  '  Envy  .says,  I  am  wasting 
my  time  in  poetry,  which  has  no 
practical  value.  7-30:  Nay!  my 
work  will  be  immortal,  like  that  of 
my  great  Greek  and  Roman  pred- 
ecessors. 31-34:  Then  let  all 
bow  before  poetry.  35-42  :  The 
rabble  may  be  wedded  to  their  idols, 
but  if  Apollo  fosters  my  art,  I  shall 
have  undying  fame  after  envious 
tongues  have  ceased  to  wag.'  With 
the  thought  as  a  whole  cf.  Prop. 


379 


15.  3] 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


lO 


»5 


non  me  more  patrum,  dum  strenua  sustinet  aetas, 

praemia  militiae  pulverulenta  sequi, 
nee  me  verbosas  leges  ediscere,  nee  me 

ingrato  vocem  prostituisse  foro  ? 
mortale  est,  quod  quaeris,  opus ;  mihi  fama  perennis 

quaeritur,  in  toto  semper  ut  orbe  canar. 
vivet  Maeonides,  Tenedos  dum  stabit  et  Ida, 

dum  rapidas  Simois  in  mare  volvet  aquas, 
vivet  et  Ascraeus,  dum  mustis  uva  tumebit, 

dum  cadet  incurva  falce  resecta  Ceres. 
Battiades  semper  toto  cantabitur  orbe  : 

quamvis  ingenio  non  valet,  arte  valet, 
nulla  Sophocleo  veniet  iactura  cothurno. 

cum  sole  et  luna  semper  Aratus  erit. 
dum  fallax  servus,  durus  pater,  inproba  lena 


cf.  Prop.  I,  8, 
.    annos :    cf. 


.  ediscere  :  a  reg- 


I.  Livor  edax 
29. — ignavos  . 
Prop.  I,  12,  I. 

5.  verbosas  .  . 
ular  exercise  for  incipient  Roman 
citizens,  and  recognized  as  a  nec- 
essary part  of  tlieir  education. 

6.  Cf.  Prop.  4,  I,  134.  —  prosti- 
tuisse probably  implies  not  merely 
public  use,  but  also  venality. 

8.  Cf.  I,  3.  25. 

9.  Maeonides  :  Homer ;  cf  Prop. 
2,  28.  29.  —  Tenedos :  it  is  on 
the  Roman  side  of  the  legend 
that  Tenedos  becomes  especially 
famous;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  2,  21 
sqq. 

10.  Simois  :  cf.  Prop.  3,  i.  27. 

II.  Ascraeus  :  Hesiod  ;  cf.  Prop. 
2,  10,  25,  n.  —  uva  tumebit:  one 
of  the  favorite  themes  in  the  Works 
and  Days  of  Hesiod. 


12.  Ceres  =  arista. 

13.  Battiades  =  Callimachus ; 
cf.  Cat.  65,  16,  n. 

14.  A  most  acute  characteriza- 
tion of  the  weakness  of  Callima- 
chus and  the  other  Alexandrians  ; 
cf.  Intr.  §  7. 

15.  Sophocleo :  Sophocles,  chron- 
ologically the  middle  one  of  the 
great  group  of  authors  of  Greek 
tragedy,  may  well  typify  this  re- 
markable branch  of  Greek  litera- 
ture. —  cothurno  :  i.e.  tragedy. 

16.  Aratus  :  an  astronomical 
poet  from  Soli  in  Cilicia,  who 
flourished  in  the  third  century  B.C., 
and  wrote  $a6vd/u.eva  koI  ^Loa-qficla, 
a  work  much  used  by  Roman 
authors,  e.g.  by  Cicero,  fragments 
of  whose  Arafea  still  survive. 

17.  fallax  servus  :  with  this 
group  of  representative  characters 


380 


AMORVM   LIBER   I 


[15.  27 


20 


25 


vivent  et  meretrix  blanda,  Menandros  erit. 
Ennius  arte  carens  animosique  Accius  oris 

casurum  nuUo  tempore  nomen  habent. 
Varronem  primamque  ratem  quae  nesciet  aetas 

aureaque  Aesonio  terga  petita  duci? 
carmina  sublimis  tunc  sunt  peritura  Lucreti,. 

exitio  terras  cum  dabit  una  dies. 
Tityrus  et  segetes  Aeneiaque  arma  legentur, 

Roma  triumphati  dum  caput  orbis  erit. 
donee  erunt  ignes  arcusque  Cupidinis  arma, 


PS. 


15.    19.    Accius  S  Actius  P.       25.    segetes  {restored  by  Bentley)  <a  fruges 


from  the  New  Attic  Comedy,  de- 
scribed in  the  apt  series  of  indi- 
vidual epithets,  cf.  the  more  com- 
plete list  of  stock  characters  found 
in  Quint.  11,3,  74  and  178  ;  Apul. 
Flor.  3,  16. 

18.  Menandros :  the  most  cele- 
brated of  the  writers  of  the  New 
Comedy. 

19.  Ennius  :  the  '  father  of  Ro- 
man poetry  '  properly  heads  this 
part  of  the  list  of  poets  ;  cf.  Prop. 
3,  3,  6. — arte  carens  :  Ovid  re- 
peats this  judgment  in  Trist.  2, 
424 :  Ennius  ingenio  i/iaxii/iiis, 
arte  rudi's ;  cf.  Hor.  A.  P.  259: 
Enni  .  .  .  magno  cnin  pondere 
versus  aut  operae  celeris  nimiutn 
curaqjie  carentis  atit  ignoratae  .  .  . 
artts ;  Prop.  4,  1,61. — animosique 
Accius  oris :  Accius  was  the  last 
and  probably  the  most  finished 
of  the  great  Roman  writers  of 
tragedy  ;  with  this  reference  to  his 
sublime   manner   cf.  Hor.  Ep.  2, 


I,  55:    aufert  Pacuvius  dodi  fa- 
>/ui/n  seiiis,  Accius  alti. 

21.  Varronem:  Varro  Atacinus, 
whose  works  included  an  imitation 
of  a  Greek  epic  on  the  Argonautic 
e.xpedition ;  cf.  Intr.  §  12. 

22.  Aesonio :  here  used  as  a 
patronymic. 

24.  dabit  una  dies  :  the  words 
of  Lucretius  himself  in  5,  95.  Cf. 
Ovid,  Trist.  2,  426 :  casurumque 
triplex  vaticinatiir  opus  ;  Prop.  3, 
5.  31,  n. 

25.  Tityrus:  the  opening  word 
of  the  Eclogues  of  Vergil.  — 
segetes  :  i.e.  the  Georgics,  treating 
of  this  and  similar  themes.  — 
arma  :  the  first  word  of  the  Aeneid. 

26.  triumphati :  i.e.  victi,  as 
commonly.  —  dum  caput  .  .  .  erit: 
cf.  Hor.  Car.  3,  30,  8  :  du7n  Capi- 
tolium  scandet  cum  tacita  virgine 
pout  if  ex.,  dicar. 

27.  ignes  =  faces.  —  arcus :  cf. 
Prop.  2,  12,  9. 


.^81 


15.  28] 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


discentur  numeri,  culte  TibuUe,  tui. 
Gallus  et  Hesperiis  et  Gallus  notus  Eois, 
30  et  sua  cum  Gallo  nota  Lycoris  erit. 

ergo  cum  silices,  cum  dens  patientis  aratri 

depereant  aevo,  carmina  morte  carent. 
cedant  carminibus  reges  regumque  triumph! 

cedat  et  auriferi  ripa  benigna  Tagi. 
35      vilia  miretur  vulgus  ;    mihi  flavus  Apollo 

pocula  Castalia  plena  ministret  aqua, 
sustineamque  coma  metuentem  frigora  myrtum 

atque  ita  soUicito  multus  amante  legar. 
pascitur  in  vivis  Livor,  post  fata  quiescit, 
40  cum  suus  ex  merito  quemque  tuetur  honos. 

ergo  etiam  cum  me  supremus  adederit  ignis, 

vivam,  parsque  mei  multa  superstes  erit. 

38.    atque  0  aque  Mueller. 


29.  Gallus:  cf.  Intr.  §  12. — 
notus  :  cf.  Ovid,  ^.  A.  3,  537  :  Ves- 
per et  Eoae  novere  Lycorida  terrae. 

30.  Lycoris:   cf.  Intr.  §  12. 

31.  cum  :  concessive.  —  silices 
.  .  .  aratri:  cf.  Lucr.  i,  313  :  sti- 
licidi  casus  lapidei?i  cavat,  uncus 
aratri  ferreus  .  .  .  decrescit 
vomer. 

32.  Cf.  Prop.  3.  2.  26. 

34.  auriferi  .  .  .  Tagi :  the  gold- 
bearing  stream  of  the  West,  in 
Spain,  corresponding  to  the  Pac- 
tolus  in  the  East;  cf  Prop,  i,  14, 
II;  Cat.  29,  19:  aiiinis  aurifer 
Tagus. 

35.  vilia  .  .  .  vulgus  :  cf.  Tib. 
3,3.19-20. — flavus:  cf.  Atn.  i. 
I,  7,  n. 


36.  Castalia :    of.    Prop.    3,    3, 

13- 

37.  myrtum  :  cf.  Atn.  i,  i,  28,  n. 

38.  multus  :  we  should  expect 
the  adverb.  Cf.  plurimus  in  Trist. 
4,  10,  128.  With  the  whole  idea 
cf.  also  Am.  i.  3.  25  ;  2,  i,  5  :  me 
legal  in  sponsi  facie  non  frigida 
virgo  et  rudis  ignoto  tactus  amore 
puer ;  atque  .  .  .  conposuit  casus 
iste  poeta  meos ;  Prop.  3,  3.  19. 

39.  fata:  cf.  Prop,  i,  17,  li. 

40.  Cf.  Prop.  3,  I,  22. 

41.  supremus  .  .  .  ignis:  i.e.  on 
the  funeral  pyre. 

42.  parsque  mei  multa  :  cf.  Hor. 
Car.  3,  30,  6  :  non  omnis  inoriar 
?nultaque  pars  mei  vitabit  Libiti- 
nam. 


^82 


AMORVM    LIBER    11 


[6,  7 


LIBER   SECVNDVS 


Psittacus,  eois  imitatrix  ales  ab  Indis, 
occidit :  exequias  ite  frequenter,  aves. 

ite,  piae  volucres,  et  plangite  pectora  pinnis, 
et  rigido  teneras  ungue  notate  genas. 

horrida  pro  maestis  lanietur  pluma  capillis, 
pro  longa  resonent  carmina  vestra  tuba. 

quod  scelus  Ismarii  quereris,  Philomela,  tyranni, 


2,   6 

The  death  of  Corinna's  parrot. 
The  rhetorical  wealth  of  elabora- 
tion employed  by  Ovid  on  this 
somewhat  trifling  theme  furnishes 
an  excellent  commentary  on  his 
mind  and  art  when  the  elegy  is 
compared  with  the  familiar  little 
poem  of  Catullus  on  the  death  of 
Lesbia's  pet  sparrow.  Ovid  must 
have  had  Catullus  in  mind  ;  but 
the  heartfelt  simplicity  of  mourn- 
ing in  the  earlier  poet  was  beyond 
the  reach  of  his  imitator.  (Yet 
cf.  Martinengo,  p.  165  ;  Mart,  i, 
7  ;   Statins,  Sih.  2,  4.) 

1-6 :  '  Come,  all  ye  birds  to 
mourn  Corinna's  parrot;  7-10: 
Philomela,  never  mind  your  old 
complaint;  11-16:  all  come!  but 
especially  you,  turtledove,  the 
parrot's  dearest  friend.  17-24: 
What  gifts  and  graces  you  had, 
parrot !    25-42  :   It  must  have  been 


envy  that  caused  your  death,  —  a 
bird  so  superior  to  others ;  but 
death  is  always  claiming  the  best. 
43-48  :  So  he  died,  amid  Corinna's 
grief;  49-58  :  he  has  entered  the 
bird's  paradise  ;  59-62  :  and  his 
tomb  has  a  suitable  inscription.' 

1.  imitatrix:  cf.  v.  37. — 
Indis:  cf.  Pliny,  N.  H.  10,  117: 
India  hafic  avem  miiiits  etc. 

2.  exequias:  cf.  Prop.  2,  13, 
24,  n. 

3.  plangite  pectora  pinnis  :  note 
the  onomatopoetic  alliteration. 

4.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  I,  68. 

5.  capillis :  tearing  the  hair 
was  a  common  expression  of 
human  mourning. 

7.  Ismarii  .  .  .  tyranni :  the 
Thraciin  king  Tereus,  husband 
of  Philomela  and  father  of  Itys. 
He  betrayed  Procne,  his  wife's 
sister,  and  in  revenge  Philomela 
killed  Itys.  When  Tereus  pur- 
sued the  fleeing  sisters,  all  three 


383 


6,  8]  P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 

expleta  est  annis  ista  querella  suis  ; 
alitis  in  rarae  miserum  devertere  funus : 
lo  magna,  set  antiqua  est  causa  doloris  Itys. 

omnes,  quae  liquido  libratis  in  aere  cursus, 

tu  tamen  ante  alios,  turtur  amice,  dole, 
plena  fuit  vobis  omni  concordia  vita, 

et  stetit  ad  finem  longa  tenaxque  fides. 
IS      quod  fuit  Argolico  iuvenis  Phoceus  Orestae, 

hoc  tibi,  dum  licuit,  psittace,  turtur  erat. 
quid  tamen  ista  fides,  quid  rari  forma  coloris, 

quid  vox  mutandis  ingeniosa  sonis, 
quid  iuvat,  ut  datus  es,  nostrae  placuisse  puellae? 
20  infelix,  avium  gloria,  nempe  iaces ! 

tu  poteras  fragiles  pinnis  hebetare  zmaragdos, 

tincta  gerens  rubro  Punica  rostra  croco. 
non  fuit  in  terris  vocum  simulantior  ales : 

reddebas  blaeso  tam  bene  verba  sono ! 
25      raptus  es  invidia  :  non  tu  fera  bella  movebas ; 

garrulus  et  placidae  pacis  amator  eras, 
ecce,  coturnices  inter  sua  proelia  vivunt, 

6.   9.   devertere  Heinsius  devertite  PR  divertite  S  devertito  Mueller. 

were  metamorphosed  into  birds;  17   sqq. :    a  typical  consolatio, 

cf.  Cat.  65,  14,  n.  cf.  Prop.  3,  18,  1 1  sqq.  —  fides  :  i.e. 

11.  libratis  .  .  .  cursus:    'poise      to  Corinna. 

yourselves ' ;    cf.   Verg.   Georg.  4,  19.   ut    datus    es :    '  from    the 

196:    sese     per     inania     nubila  moment  you  became  hers.' 
librant.  21.    hebetare:   by  contrast. 

12.  turtur     amice:     cf.    Pliny,  22.    Punica:     cf.    Prop.    3,    3, 
N.  H.   10,  207  :    amici  pavones  et  32,  n. 

coluffibae,  turtures  I't  psittaci.  23.    Cf.  v.  i. 

15.    iuvenis   Phoceus  :   Pylades,  26.    garrulus  :  i.e.  a  mere  talker, 

whose  friendship  with  Orestes  was  as  contrasted  with  a  fighter, 
as   celebrated  as  that  of  Damon  27.  coturnices  : notoriously  quar 

and  Pythias.  relsome  birds. 

384 


AMORVM    LIBER   II  [6,  45 

forsitan  et  fiant  inde  frequenter  anus, 
plenus  eras  minimo,  nee  prae  sermonis  amore 
30  in  multos  poteras  ora  vacare  cibos. 

nux  erat  esca  tibi  causaque  papavera  somni, 

pellebatque  sitim  simplicis  umor  aquae. 
vivit  edax  voltur  ducensque  per  aera  gyros 
miluus  et  pluviae  graculus  auctor  aquae; 
35      vivit  et  armiferae  cornix  in  visa  Minervae, 
ilia  quidem  saeclis  vix  moritura  novem  : 
occidit  ilia  loquax  humanae  vocis  imago, 

psittacus,  extreme  munus  ab  orbe  datum, 
optima  prima  fere  manibus  rapiuntur  avaris : 
40  inplentur  numeris  deteriora  suis. 

tristia  Phylacidae  Thersites  funera  vidit : 

iamque  cinis,  vivis  fratribus,  Hector  erat, 
quid  referam  timidae  pro  te  pia  vota  puellae, 
vota  procelloso  per  mare  rapta  noto  .'* 
45      septima  lux  venit,  non  exhibitura  sequentem, 

28.  fiant :    the    subjunctive   of  36.   Cf.  v.  34,  n. 

modesty  adds  a  sly  thrust  to  the  39.   A    familiar   sentiment ;    cf. 

irony.  —  inde:      'for      that      very  Cat.  3,   13:  rnalae  tenebrae   Orci, 

reason.'  quae  omnia  bella  devoratis. 

29.  minimo:  so.  cibo.  The  41.  Phylacidae :  Protesilaus ;  cf. 
parrot  would  rather  talk  than  eat.  Her.  13  ;    Cat.  68,  74.  n.  —  Ther- 

31.    causaque  papavera  somni:  sites:    the  hateful  figure  of  Horn, 

cf.   Verg.    Georg.    i,   78:    Lethaeo  11.  2,  212  sqq. 

perfiisa  papavera  sotntio,  42.   fratribus:      including      the 

34.  graculus  auctor  aquae:  cf.  cowardly  Paris,  who  brought  on 
Prop.  4,  3,  32  ;  but  the  crow  is  all  the  trouble  of  the  Trojan  War. 
more  common  as  a  messenger  of  43.  vota :  offered  during  the  ill- 
rain  ;  cf.  Hor.  Car.  3,  17, 12  :  aquae  ness  of  her  parrot. 

nisi fallit  augur  atuiosa  cornix.  45.   septima:    believed    by    the 

35.  invisa  Minervae :  the  crow  ancients  to  be  a  critical  day  in 
talked  too  much,  and  besides  was  certain  diseases ;  Cic.  Ad  Fam. 
at  enmity  with  Minerva's  favorite,  16,  9,  3  :  7ie  in  quartatn  hcbdomada 
the  owl ;  cf.  Met.  2,  535  sqq.  incideres. 


ROM.  EL.  POETS 25 


385 


6,  46]  f".   OVIDI   NASONIS 

et  stabat  vacuo  iam  tibi  Parca  colo, 
nee  tamen  ignavo  stupuerunt  verba  palato : 

clamavit  moriens  lingua  'Corinna,  vale  ! ' 
colle  sub  Elysio  nigra  nemus  ilice  frondet, 
50  udaque  perpetuo  gramine  terra  viret. 

siqua  fides  dubiis,  volucrum  locus  ille  piarum 

dicitur,  obscenae  quo  prohibentur  aves. 
illic  innocui  late  pascuntur  olores, 

et  vivax  phoenix,  unica  semper  avis. 
55      explicat  ipsa  suas  ales  lunonia  pinnas, 

oscula  dat  cupido  blanda  columba  mari. 
psittacus  has  inter  nemorali  sede  receptus 

convertit  volucres  in  sua  verba  pias. 
ossa  tegit  tumulus,  tumulus  pro  corpore  magnus, 
60  quo  lapis  exiguus  par  sibi  carmen  habet : 

*  colligor  ex  ipso  dominae  placuisse  sepulcro; 

ora  fuere  mihi  plus  ave  docta  loqui.' 

46.  Parca :    Clotho,  the  empti-  55.   ales  lunonia :  the  peacock  ; 

ness    of    whose    spindle    signifies  ci.A.A.  1,627:  laiidatas  ostendit 

that  the  thread  of  life  has  run  out.  avis  lunonia  pinnas.     Pausanias 

49  sqq. :  an  ideal  scene  in  bird  (2.  17,  6)  tells  of  the  golden  pea- 
paradise.  The  poet's  imagina-  cock  in  the  Hera  temple  at  My- 
tion  is  helped  by  the  memory  of  cenae. 

his  boyhood  home;    cf.   2,   16.   5  56.   Cf.  Cat.  68,  125-127  ;  Prop, 

sqq.  2.    15,    27:     exetnplo  iunctae  tibi 

51.  siqua  fides  dubiis:  sc.   est.  sint  in  amore  columbae. 

For  the  thought  cf.  Cat.  96,  i,  n.  59.    pro  corpore  magnus :  'cor- 

52.  obscenae:  'ill-boding';    cf.       respondingly  small.' 

Verg.  Aett.  12,  875  :  ne  tne  terrete  60.   Cf.  Prop.  2,  i,  72  :  breve  in 

timentem,  obscenae  vol /teres.  exiguo  inannore  nometi  ero. 

53.  olores ;  poetic  for  ri'^^-;//.  61.   colligor:     'it    may    be    in- 

54.  vivax  phoenix:  which,  ac-  ferred.'  —  ex  ipso  .  .  .  sepulcro: 
cording  to  mythology,  rose  again  i.e.  the  very  existence  of  a  tomb 
from  its  own  ashes  ;  cf.  the  poems  is  a  mark  of  unusual  affection. 

on  this  subject  by  Claudian  and  62.   plus  ave:  i.e.  like  human 

Lactantius.  beings. 


&- 


386 


AMORVM    LIBER   II 


[".  '3 


lO 


I  I 

Prima  malas  docuit,  mirantibus  aequoris  undis, 

Peliaco  pinus  vertice  caesa  vias, 
quae  concurrentis  inter  temeraria  cautes 

conspicuam  fulvo  vellere  vexit  ovem. 
o  utinam,  ne  quis  remo  freta  longa  moveret, 

Argo  funestas  pressa  bibisset  aquas  ! 
ecce,  fugit  notumque  torum  sociosque  penates, 

fallacisque  vias  ire  Corinna  parat. 
quid  tibi  (me  miserum  !)  Zephyros  Eurosque  timebo 

et  gelidum  Borean  egelidumque  Notum  ? 
non  illic  urbes,  non  tu  mirabere  silvas : 

una  est  iniusti  caerula  forma  maris, 
nee  medius  tenuis  conchas  pictosque  lapillos 


Ovid  would  fain  dissuade  Co- 
rinna from  her  contemplated  jour- 
ney by  sea  ;  but,  if  siie  is  resolved 
to  go,  wishes  her  bon  voyage,  in  the 
form  of  a  propempticon. 

1-8:  'Would  that  no  Argo  had 
ever  taught  the  way  of  the  sea! 
For  now  Corinna  plans  to  sail 
away.  9-32:  Dear  me!  How 
anxious  I  shall  be!  Why  do  you 
go?  There  is  nothing  on  the  sea 
to  interest  a  girl ;  the  land  is  safe. 
Let  others  tell  you  of  the  perils  of 
the  deep ;  when  once  you  have 
embarked,  'tis  too  late  to  regret. 
33-42  :  But  if  you  are  resolved  to 
go,  may  the  gods  protect  you,  and 
may  you  yourself  long  to  return  ! 
43-56:  I  will  be  on  the  watch  to 


welcome  you  royally :  and  you 
shall  tell  me  of  your  adventures. 
Hasten  the  glad  day ! ' 

I.  Prima  .  .  .  pinus  :  the  Argo ; 
cf.  Cat.  64,  I  :  Peliaco  quondam 
prognatae  vertice  pitms.  —  miran- 
tibus .  .  .  undis :  cf.  Cat.  64,  14-15  ; 
e  giirgite  vjiltus  aequoreae  tnon- 
striwi  Nereides  admir antes. 

3.  concurrentis  . .  .  cautes:  the 
Symplegades ;     cf.    Prop.    2,    26, 

39'  n- 

9.  quid    nearly  =  quatitum    or 

quantopere. 

10.  The  tradition  is  that  this 
verse  was  one  of  three  which  Ovid 
and  his  friends  agreed  upon  as 
too  artificial. 

12.   iniusti:  cf.  Prop.  3,  7,  18; 


1,15: 


1 2  :  seder  at  iniusto 


salo. 


387 


II,   14] 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


pontus  habet :  bibuli  litoris  ilia  morast. 
15      litora  marmoreis  pedibus  signate,  puellae : 
hactenus  est  tutum,  cetera  caeca  viast. 
et  vobis  alii  ventorum  proelia  narrent, 

quas  Scylla  infestet  quasve  Charybdis  aquas, 
et  quibus  emineant  violenta  Ceraunia  saxis, 
20  quo  lateant  Syrtes  magna  minorque  sinu. 

haec  alii  referant ;  at  vos  quod  quisque  loquetur 

credite  :  quaerenti  nulla  procella  nocet. 
sero  respicitur  tellus,  ubi  fune  soluto 
currit  in  inmensum  panda  carina  salum. 
25      navita  sollicitus  quin  ventos  horret  iniquos, 

et  prope  tarn  latum  quam  prope  cernit  aquam ! 
quod  si  concussas  Triton  exasperet  undas, 

quam  tibi  sit  toto  nullus  in  ore  color ! 
tum  generosa  voces  fecundae  sidera  Ledae 
30  et  '  felix,'  dicas  *  quem  sua  terra  tenet ! ' 


11.    21.    at   vulg.   ad   PS. 
Eiese  quia  P  qua  Heinsius. 


22.    quaerenti   P   credenti   vulg.       25.    quin 


14.  Cf.  Prop.  1,2,  13  ;  Lucr.  2, 
374-376 :  concharuntque  genus 
.  .  .  qua  tnollibus  nndis  litoris 
incurvi  bibiilam  pavit  aequor 
harenam.  —  mora :  i.e.  cause  for 
fnora . 

15.  marmoreis  pedibus :  cf.  Cat. 
68,  71  ;  Verg.  Georg.  4,  523  :  niar- 
morea  caput  a  cervice  revulsum. 

18.  Cf.  Am.  2,  16.  25. 

19.  Cerauuia :  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i, 
3,  20 :  ijifaniis  scopulos,  Acroce- 
raunia.  Particularly  dangerous 
because  near  the  most  natural  track 
of  navigation  from  Italy  to  the 
east,  and  vice  versa. 


20.   Syrtes:  cf.  2,  16,  21 ;  Tib. 

3,  4,  91  :  Iwrrendave  Syrtis. 
These  dangerous  shoals  were 
dreaded  as  much,  and  were  proba- 
bly quite  as  destructive  of  vessels, 
in  the  long  run,  as  the  cliffs  of 
verse  19. 

22.  quaerenti :  i.e.  inquiring  of 
others  about  their  adventures. 

23.  respicitur:  the  "longing, 
lingering  look  behind." 

27.  Triton's  power  over  the 
waves  is  described  in  Met.  i,  330 
sqq. 

29.  sidera  Ledae :  cf.  Prop,  i, 
17.  18,  n. 


388 


AMORVM    LIBER    II  [ii,  51 

tutius  est  fovisse  torum,  legisse  libellos, 

Threiciam  digitis  increpuisse  lyram. 
at  si  vana  ferunt  volucres  mea  dicta  procellae, 

aequa  tamen  puppi  sit  Galatea  tuae ! 
35      vestrum  crimen  erit  talis  iactura  puellae, 

Nereidesque  deae  Nereidunique  pater, 
vade  memor  nostri  vento  reditura  secundo, 

inpleat  ilia  tuos  fortior  aura  sinus  ! 
turn  mare  in  haec  magnus  proclinet  litora  Nereus, 
40  hue  venti  spirent,  hue  agat  aestus  aquas ! 

ipsa  roges,  Zephyri  veniant  in  lintea  soli, 

ipsa  tua  moveas  turgida  vela  manu. 
primus  ego  adspiciam  notam  de  litore  puppim 

et  dicam  *  nostros  advehit  ilia  deos  ' 
45      excipiamque  umeris  et  multa  sine  ordine  carpam 

oscula :  pro  reditu  victima  vota  cadet, 
inque  tori  formam  molles  sternentur  harenae, 

et  tumulus  mensae  quilibet  instar  erit. 
illic  adposito  narrabis  multa  Lyaeo  : 
50  paene  sit  ut  mediis  obruta  navis  aquis, 

dumque  ad  me  properas,  neque  iniquae  tempora  noctis 

40.  aestus  Merkel  (from  old  Mss.)  eurus  PS.       41.    soli  vulg.  pleni  PS. 
48.    instar  erit  vulg.  esse  potest  PS. 

31.  Cf.  Tib.   I,  I,  43-48;  the      less    of    direction.     But    cf.   also 
idea  of  this  verse  is  repeated  in       v.  9. 

Her.  2,,  117-118.  45.    excipiamque:      sc      ie. — 

32.  Threiciam:     because     Or-      umeris:     the     landing     is     made 
pheus  was  from  Thrace.  through   the  surf;   many   harbors 

34.  Galatea:    cf.    Prop,    i,    8,      in  Italy  and  the  east  are  still  with- 
18,  n.  out  facilities  for  landing  voyagers 

35.  Cf.  Prop.  2,  28,  2.  on   a   pier.  —  multa   sine    ordine: 
38.    ilia  .  .  .  aura:    the    vetito      cf.  Cat.  5.  7-13. 

.  .  .  secundo  oi  wer?,c  2>7 •  49-    Lyaeo  =  vino,    by    meton- 

41.  Zephyri  .   .   .  soli:  i.e.    in       ymy. 

their  caoacity  as  fair  winds,  regard-  51.   properas:  note  the  mood. 

389 


".    52] 


p.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


55 


nec  te  praecipites  extimuisse  Notos. 
omnia  pro  veris  credam,  sint  ficta  licebit : 

cur  ego  non  votis  blandiar  ipse  meis  ? 
haec  mihi  quam  primum  caelo  nitidissimus  alto 

Lucifer  admisso  tempora  portet  equo  ! 


i6 

Pars  me  Sulmo  tenet  Paeligni  tertia  ruris, 

parva,  sed  inriguis  ora  salubris  aquis, 
sol  licet  admoto  tellurem  sidere  findat, 

et  micet  Icarii  Stella  proterva  canis : 
arva  pererrantur  Paeligna  liquentibus  undis, 

et  viret  in  tenero  fertilis  herba  solo, 
terra  ferax  Cereris  multoque  feracior  uvis, 

dat  quoque  baciferam  Pallada  rarus  ager, 


55.  Cf.  Tib.  1,3,93- 

56.  Cf.  Prop.  3,  I,  13- 

2,  16 
i-io :  '  I  am  in  lovely,  well- 
watered  Sulmo ;  11-14:  but  with- 
out you,  my  love,  I  should  be 
discontented  in  the  skies.  1 5-32  : 
Bad  luck  to  those  who  invented 
journeys!  —  unless,  indeed,  lovers 
could  ever  accompany  their  lasses  ; 
then  1  would  not  fear  to  brave 
every  peril  known  to  travelers, 
and  if  shipwreck  should  come,  I 
would  save  us  both,  swimming  as 
Leander  did  for  his  Hero.  33-4°  : 
Away  from  you,  even  fair  Sulmo 
seems  a  very  Caucasus.  41-46: 
Why  must  I  be  without  my  mate? 
You  swore  to  stay :  why  trust  a 
woman's  words?     47-52:  Yet,  if 


you  care  for  me,  come  quickly, 
and  may  all  obstacles  to  your 
progress  vanish  as  you  approach  ! ' 

1.  Sulmo:  the  birthplace  of 
the  poet,  in  the  fertile  valley 
amons:  the  mountains  of  the 
Paelignian  country.  Cf.  Trist.  4, 
10,  3.  — tertia:  the  two  other  dis- 
tricts were  Corfinium  and  Super- 
aequium  ;  cf.  Pliny,  M.  H.  3,  106. 

2.  parva:  cf.  3,  15,  12  sqq. — 
salubris  aquis :  cf.  2,  i,  i  :  Pae- 
lignis  iiatus  aquosis. 

3-4.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  7.  21. — Icarii 
.  .  .  canis :  the  faithful  dog  that 
discovered  his  master's  corpse,  and 
was  metamorphosed  by  Dionysus 
into  the  star  Sirius. 

8.  Pallada :  by  metonymy  for 
the  ohve,  which  Pallas  gave  to  the 
Athenians. 


390 


AMORVM   LIBER   II 


[i6,  28 


perque  resurgentes  rivis  labentibus  herbas 
10  gramineus  madidam  caespes  obumbrat  humum, 

at  meus  ignis  abest :  verbo  peccavimus  uno  ! 

quae  movet  ardores,  est  procul ;  ardor  adest. 
non  ego,  si  medius  Polluce  et  Castore  ponar, 
in  caeli  sine  te  parte  fuisse  velim. 
15      solliciti  iaceant  terraque  premantur  iniqua, 
in  longas  orbem  qui  secuere  vias ; 
aut  iuvenum  comites  iussissent  ire  puellas, 

si  fuit  in  longas  terra  secanda  vias ! 
turn  mihi,  si  premerem  ventosas  horridus  Alpes, 
20  dummodo  cum  domina,  molle  fuisset  iter, 

cum  domina  Libycas  ausim  perrumpere  Syrtes 

et  dare  non  acquis  vela  ferenda  Notis. 
non  quae  virgineo  portenta  sub  inguine  latrant, 
nee  timeam  vestros,  curva  Malea,  sinus : 
25      non  quas  submersis  ratibus  saturata  Charybdis 
fundit  et  effusas  ore  receptat  aquas, 
quod  si  Neptuni  ventosa  potentia  vincit, 
•       et  subventuros  auferet  unda  deos, 

16.    25.    quas  Postgate  fro77i  old  ed.  qua  P  quae  S. 


10.  obumbrat :  i.e.  because  of 
its  luxuriance. 

11.  ignis:  a  familiar  metaphor 
in  the  poets  ;  cf.  3,  9,  56. 

13.  medius  .  .  .  ponar:  i.e. 
translated,  like  Castor  and  Pollux, 
to  the  skies ;  cf.  2,  1 1,  29.  n. 

15.  terraque  premantur:  the 
curse  is  the  opposite  of  the  cus- 
tomary wish,  sit  tibiterralevis ;  cf. 
Tib.  2,  6,  30. 

16.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  3.  35-36. 

17.  The  form  of  the  wish  im- 
plies an  unfulfilled  obligation. 


19.  There  is  no  sign  in  Roman 
literature  of  any  appreciation 
of  the  beauty  and  grandeur 
of  the  Alps,  in  the  modern 
manner. 

23.  virgineo:  ;>.  of  Scylla. 

24.  Malea  :  the  promontory  had 
a  bad  name  for  the  stormy  weather 
that  was  prevalent  there.  Cf. 
Prop.  3,  19,  8  :  saeva  Malea;  and 
Cape  Hatteras  to-day. 

28.  subventuros:' who  might  be 
expected  to  come  to  the  rescue.' 
—  deos  :  perhaps  the  poet  is  think- 


391 


1 6,  29] 


P.    OVIDI   NASONIS 


tu  nostris  niveos  umeris  inpone  lacertos : 
30  corpore  nos  facili  dulce  feremus  onus. 

saepe  petens  Heron  iuvenis  transnaverat  undas: 

turn  quoque  transnasset,  sed  via  caeca  fuit. 
at  sine  te,  quamvis  operosi  vitibus  agri 

me  teneant,  quamvis  amnibus  arva  natent 
35      et  vocet  in  rivos  currentem  rusticus  undam, 

frigidaque  arboreas  mulceat  aura  comas, 
non  ego  Paelignos  videor  celebrare  salubres, 

non  ego  natalem,  rura  paterna,  locum, 
sed  Scythiam  Cilicasque  feros  viridesque  Britannos, 
40  quaeque  Prometheo  saxa  cruore  rubent. 

ulmus  amat  vitem,  vitis  non  deserit  ulmum: 

separor  a  domina  cur  ego  saepe  mea  ? 
at  mihi  te  comitem  iuraras  usque  futuram 

per  me  perque  oculos,  sidera  nostra,  tuos. 


ing  of  the  images  of  the  gods 
carried  on  the  afterpart  of  the 
ship. 

31.  iuvenis:  Leander,  who,  ac- 
cording to  the  familiar  story,  swam 
the  Hellespont  every  night  to  visit 
his  beloved  Hero;  cf.  Her.  17  and 
18. 

32.  turn:  on  the  fatal  night 
when  the  storm  extinguished  his 
guiding  light  and  he  perished  in 
the  waves. 

35.  vocet  .  .  .  rusticus :  the 
practice  of  artificial  irrigation  is 
no  modern  invention. 

36.  mulceat:  'caress';  cf.  Cat. 
62, 41  :  '\^flos\  quern  i}itilcent  aurae ; 
Prop.  4,  7.  60 :  iiiidcet  ubi  Elysias 
aura  beata  rosas. 

39.    A  series  of  the  most  forbid- 


ding places,  to  Roman  thought,  in 
the  cold  and  barren  north. 

40.  saxa:  i.e.  the  Caucasus 
Mountains;  cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  22, 
6 :  inhospitalem  Caucasum. 

41.  ulmus  amat  vitem  :  the  elm 
was  the  favorite  tree  for  a  vine- 
prop  ;  the  vine  was  said  to  be 
wedded  to  any  tree  so  used,  and 
other  trees  to  be  unwedded ;  cf.| 
Hor.  Epod.  2,  9-10  :  adulta  vitium 
propagine  altas  maritat  populos ; 
Car.  2.  15.  4  :  platanusque  caelebs; 
Cat.  62,  49  sqq.  :  ///  vidua  .  .  . 
vitis  .  .  .  si  forte  eadem  est  ulmo 
coniuncta  tnarito. 

44.  oculos,  sidera  nostra,  tuos : 
cf.  Tib.  4,  2,  5-6 ;  Prop.  2,  3,  14 : 
non  oculi,  geniinae,  sidera  nostra, 
faces. 


392 


AMORVM   LIBER   II 


[17.  5 


45      verba  puellarum,  foliis  leviora  caducis, 

inrita,  qua  visum  est,  ventus  et  unda  ferunt. 
siqua  mei  tamen  est  in  te  pia  cura  relicti, 

incipe  pollicitis  addere  facta  tuis, 
parvaque  quam  primum  rapientibus  esseda  mannis 
50  ipsa  per  admissas  concute  lora  iubas. 

at  vos,  qua  veniet,  tumidi  subsidite  montes, 
et  faciles  curvis  vallibus  este  viae  ! 


17 

Siquis  erit,  qui  turpe  putet  servire  puellae, 

illo  convincar  iudice  turpis  ego. 
sim  licet  infamis,  dum  me  moderatius  urat, 

quae  Paphon  et  fluctu  pulsa  Cythera  tenet, 
atque  utinam  dominae  miti  quoque  praeda  fuissem, 


45.  foliis  leviora :  cf.  Her.  5, 
109:  tu  levior  foliis. 

46.  ventus  et  unda :  cf.  Cat. 
70,  4. 

47.  Cf.  Tib.  4,  II,  I. 

49.  rapientibus  esseda  mannis  : 
a  rig  suitable  for  a  stylish  young 
lady.  Cf  Prop.  2,  32,  5  :  cur  tua 
te  Herculeum  deportant  esseda 
Tibur?  Hor.  Epod.  4. 

2,  17 

i-io:  'I  will  gladly  be  known 
as  Corinna's  slave ;  but  I  wish  she 
were  not  so  hard  a  mistress!  Her 
beauty  makes  her  overweening  in 
pride.  11-22:  You  need  not  de- 
spise me.  Calypso,  Thetis,  Egeria, 
loved  mortal  men  ;  and  even  lovely 


Venus  gave  herself  to  ugly  Vulcan. 
Even  my  verse  illustrates  the 
happy  union  of  greater  and  less. 
23-34:  So  take  me,  darling;  and 
you  need  not  be  ashamed  of  me ; 
my  verse  offers  you  an  enviable 
glory,  and  you  alone  will  I  sing.  ■" 
I.    Cf.  Prop.  3.  II,  I. 

3.  urat :  cf  1,1,  26. 

4.  Paphon :  Paphos,  on  the 
island  of  Cyprus,  was  a  famous 
center  of  Aphrodite  worship ;  cf. 
Hor.  Car.  i,  30,  i  :  Venus,  regina 
Cnidi  Faphique.  —  Cythera  :  this 
island,  south  of  the  promontory  of 
Malea,  was  another  celebrated 
home  of  Aphrodite,  and  according 
to  one  tradition  she  was  born 
there  from  the  waves  of  the  sea. 

5.  Cf.  Prop.  I,  7,  5-8. 


393 


r%  6]  P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 

formosae  quoniam  praeda  futurus  eram  ! 
dat  facies  animos  :  facie  violenta  Corinnast. 
me  miserum  !  cur  est  tarn  bene  nota  sibi  ? 
scilicet  a  speculi  sumuntur  imagine  fastus : 
10  nee  nisi  conpositam  se  prius  ilia  videt. 

non  tibi  si  facies  nimium  dat  in  omnia  regni, — 

o  facies  oculos  nata  tenere  meos !  — 
collatum  idcirco  tibi  me  contemnere  debes : 
aptari  magnis  inferiora  licet. 
IS      traditur  et  nymphe  mortalis  amore  Calypso 
capta  recusantem  detinuisse  virum. 
creditur  aequoream  Phthio  Nereida  regi, 

Egeriam  iusto  concubuisse  Numae: 
Volcano  Venerem,  quamvis  incude  relicta 
20  turpiter  obliquo  claudicet  ille  pede. 

carminis  hoc  ipsum  genus  inpar :  sed  tamen  apte 

17.    II.    nimium  7/M^.animumP(?)S.  in  omnia  z/w^.  nomina  PS  et  omina 
Oiven. 

7.   facies  :  '  beauty ' ;  cf.  v.  11;  longed  to  return  to  his  home  and 

Prop.    I,    2.    21;    etc.  —  violenta:  his  faithful  Penelope, 
'presuming.'  17.    Phthio  .  ..  regi:     Peleus ; 

9.  speculi   .   .    .   imagine  :    i.e.  cf.  Cat.  64.  —  Nereida  :  Thetis, 
from    admiring   one's    self  in  the  18.   Egeriam :  the  nymph  whose 
mirror. — fastus  :' proud  disdain  ' ;  shrine    was    outside    the    Roman 
cf.  Prop.  I,  1,3.  Porta  Capena,   where  she  used   to 

10.  conpositam:        'when      give   counsel  and  love    to    Numa, 
adorned.''     Corinna,  like  Cynthia      the  early  Roman  lawgiver. 

(cf.  Prop.  I,  2,  /flj-j/w),  believed  20.  Homer  explains  the  lame- 
much  finery  essential  to  the  sue-  ness  of  Vulcan  as  caused  by  his 
cess  of  her  charms.  fall  when   thrown  out  of  heaven 

11.  in  omnia  regni:    cf    i,    i,  down  to  Lemnos;  cf.  Hom.  //.  i, 
13-  560  sqq.;  later  writers  represented 

12.  tenere:   poetic  purpose  in-  Venus  as  making  fiin  of  the  physi- 
finitive  with  nata.  cal  defects  of  her  divine  spouse. 

15.  mortalis:  Odysseus.  21.    Cf.  i,  i,  3  sq.  —  inpar:  sc. 

16.  recusantem :      because     he      est. 

394 


AMORVM    LIBER    III  [9.  3 

iungitur  herous  cum  breviore  modo. 
tu  quoque  me,  mea  lux,  in  quaslibet  accipe  leges : 

te  deceat  medio  iura  dedisse  foro. 
25      non  tibi  crimen  ero,  nee  quo  laetere  remote : 

non  erit  hie  nobis  infitiandus  amor, 
sunt  mihi  pro  magno  felicia  carmina  censu, 

et  multae  per  me  nomen  habere  volunt. 
novi  aliquam,  quae  se  circumferat  esse  Corinnam : 
30  ut  fiat,  quid  non  ilia  dedisse  velit  ? 

sed  neque  diversi  ripa  labuntur  eadem 

frigidus  Eurotas  populiferque  Padus, 
nee,  nisi  tu,  nostris  cantabitur  ulla  libellis : 

ingenio  causas  tu  dabis  una  meo. 


LIBER   TERTIVS 


Memnona  si  mater,  mater  ploravit  Achillem, 

et  tangunt  magnas  tristia  fata  deas, 
flebilis  indignos,  Elegeia,  solve  capillos ! 

22.  herous :     sc.     modus ;    the 

hexameter  was  recognized  as  the  •^' 

regular  vehicle  of  heroic  poetical  On   the  death  of  Tibullus,  19 

narration;  cf.  i,  i,  2.  B.C.     In  this  beautiful  elegy  Ovid, 

23.  lux:  cf.  Cat.  68,  132.  whose  acquaintance  with  Tibullus 

24.  deceat:    concessive.  —  iura  was  all  too  short   (cf.    Intr.  §38; 
dedisse  :  /.e.  as  my  superior.  Tri'sL  4,  10,  51),  drops  the  conven- 

25.  crimen :      '  cause     for     re-  tional    formality   of  most    of   the 
proach.  '  A  mores,  and  we  seem  to  see  the 

27.    Cf.  Prop.  I,  8,  39-40.  genuine  sorrow  of  a  sympathetic 

29.   circumferat:       *  tells  it      soul.        Moreover,     when     death 

around.  '  touches  the  poets'  guild,  Ovid  too 

34.    Cf.    Prop.  I,  12,  20.  is  touched,  and  aroused  to  claim 

395 


9.  4] 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


lo 


ah,  nimis  ex  vero  nunc  tibi  nomen  erit ! 
ille  tui  vates  operis,  tua  fama,  Tibullus 

ardet  in  extructo,  corpus  inane,  rogo. 
ecce,  puer  Veneris  fert  eversamque  pharetram 

et  fractos  arcus  et  sine  luce  facem. 
adspice,  demissis  ut  eat  miserabilis  alis 

pectoraque  infesta  tundat  aperta  manu ! 
excipiunt  lacrimas  sparsi  per  colla  capilli, 

oraque  singultu  concutiente  sonant, 
fratris  in  Aeneae  sic  ilium  funere  dicunt 


immortality  for  his  work.  As  a 
consolatio  it  may  be  compared  with 
2,  6,  and  Prop.  3,7;  18;  4,  11. 

1-6:  'Mourn,  Elegy!  for  thy 
chief  exemplar  is  no  more.  7-16 : 
Venus  and  Cupid  are  in  tears. 
17-32:  What  a  mockery  to  sup- 
pose that  poets  bear  charmed 
lives!  think  of  Orpheus,  Linus, 
Homer  !  Nay,  'tis  their  work  that 
is  immortal.  33-46 :  What 
availed  thee  all  thy  piety?  the 
gods,  if  gods  there  be,  heed  not. 
47-58 :  Yet,  how  much  worse  it 
might  have  been!  Thy  mother 
and  sister,  Delia  and  Nemesis  too, 
were  by  thy  bedside,  Tibullus. 
59-66 :  If  there  be  an  Elysium, 
Tibullus  will  be  there  with  Calvus, 


bewail  her  wonderful  son,  who  so 
narrowly  escaped  immortality. 

3.  flebilis:  i.e.  elegy  of  the 
threnetic  type.  —  indignos  :  that 
have  deserved  no  such  bereave- 
ment as  the  early  death  of  Tibul- 
lus.—  Elegeia:  here  personified, 
to  address. 

4.  ex  vero  .  ,  .  nomen:  cf. 
Intr.  §2. 

6.  corpus  inane :  cf.  Prop.  3, 
18,32. 

7-8.  Cupid's  regular  attributes 
are  so  disordered  as  to  indicate 
mourning. 

8.  Cf.  Tib.  2,  6,  15-16. 

9.  alis :  cf.  Prop.  2,  12,  5,  n. 

10.  One  of  the  signs  of  mourn- 
ing;   cf.    2,  6,  3;  3,  6,  57:    quid 

Catullus,    and      Callus.        67-68 :      fles  et  ?nadidos  lacrimis  corrumpis 
Peace  to  thine  ashes! '  ocellos  pectoraque  insana  plangis 

I.   Memnona  :    son  of  Tithonus       aperta  manu  f 
and  Eos.  king  of  the  Ethiopians.  11.    For  disheveled   hair  as  a 

He  went  to  the  assistance  of  the      sign  of  mourning  cf.  Tib.  3,  2,  11. 
Trojans  after  the  death  of  Hector,  12.    concutiente:  'convulsive.' 

and  was  killed  by  Achilles.     Cf.  13.   fratris:  Aeneas,  like  Cupid, 

Met.    13,  621    sqq.— mater   .   .  .      was  a  son  of  Venus.     Cf.   Verg. 
Achillem:    Thetis  in  turn  had  to      Aen.  i,  66-j  -.  /rater  ut  Aetieas. 


AMORVM    LIBER   III 


[9.  25 


egressum  tectis,  pulcher  lule,  tuis. 
15      nee  minus  est  confusa  Venus  moriente  Tibullo, 
quam  iuveni  rupit  cum  ferus  inguen  aper. 
at  sacri  vates  et  divum  cura  vocamur ! 

sunt  etiam,  qui  nos  numen  habere  patent! 
scilicet  omne  sacrum  mors  inportuna  profanat, 
20  omnibus  obscuras  inicit  ilia  manus. 

quid  pater  Ismario,  quid  mater  profuit,  Orpheo? 

carmine  quid  victas  obstipuisse  feras  ? 
et  Linon  in  silvis  idem  pater  '  aelinon  ! '  altis 
dicitur  invita  concinuisse  lyra. 
25      adice  Maeoniden,  a  quo,  ceu  fonte  perenni, 


9.   23.    et  Linon  P  aelinon 


aelinon  vulg. 


14.  pulcher  lule :  cf.  Verg.  Aen. 
I,  709:  /nirantur  luliim  flagran- 
tesque  dei  vitltiis. 

15.  est  confusa  Venus  :  because 
Tibullus  was  a  poet  of  love. 

16.  iuveni:  Adonis,  beloved  of 
Venus,  but  mortally  wounded  in 
the  hunt  by  a  wild  boar. 

17.  at  .  .  .  vocamur:  ironical: 
'  yet  they  say  that  we  are.'  —  vates  : 
of.  I,  I,  6;  Tib.  3,  4,  43:  'salve, 
cura  deiivi :  casio  nam  rite  poetae 
Phoebusqjie  et  Bacchus  Pieridesque 
favent.'' 

18.  numen :  cf.  our  expression, 
"divine  atHatus." 

19.  scilicet  :  not  ironical,  but 
here  with  conviction.  —  profanat: 
death  made  ceremonially  unclean 
the  place  and  the  persons  im- 
mediately concerned.  The  cypress 
at  the  door  was  the  sign  of  the 


presence  of  this  uncleanness ;  cf. 
the  ancient  Hebrew  law. 

20.  obscuras  :  cf.  Tib.  i,  3,  4. 

21.  pater:  Apollo,  who  was 
also  father  of  Linus  (v.  23). — 
Ismario:  i.e.  Thracian,  from  Mt. 
Ismarus.  —  mater  :  Calliope.  —  Or- 
pheo :  note  the  synizesis. 

22.  victas:  'captivated.' 

23.  Linon :  son  of  Psamathe 
and  Apollo.  —  aelinon  =  aiktvov : , 
*  Ah  !  Linus  ! '  cf.  the  origin  of 
the  word  elegeia,  Intr.  §2.  It 
is  a  second  accusative  with  con- 
cinuisse and  Lition  in  a  double 
accusative  construction. 

25.  Maeoniden:  cf.  i,  15,  9; 
Trist.  4,  10,  22  ;  Prop.  2,  28,  29.  — 
fonte  perenni :  the  debt  of  all 
the  poets  to  Homer  was  recog- 
nized more  and  more  in  Roman 
times. 


397 


9,  26]  P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 

vatum  Pieriis  ora  rigantur  aquis  : 
hunc  quoque  summa  dies  nigro  submersit  Averno : 

defugiunt  avidos  carmina  sola  rogos. 
durat  opus  vatum,  Troiani  fama  laboris, 
30  tardaque  nocturno  tela  retexta  dolo. 

sic  Nemesis  longum,  sic  Delia  nomen  habebunt, 

altera  cura  recens,  altera  primus  amor, 
quid  vos  sacra  iuvant  ?  quid  nunc  Aegyptia  prosunt 

sistra  ?  quid  in  vacuo  secubuisse  toro  ? 
35      cum  rapiunt  mala  fata  bonos,  —  ignoscite  fasso  !  — 

sollicitor  nullos  esse  putare  deos. 
viva  pius  :  moriere  plus,     cole  sacra  :  colentem 

mors  gravis  a  templis  in  cava  busta  trahet. 
carminibus  confide  bonis  :  iacet  ecce  Tibullus  ; 
40  vix  manet  e  toto,  parva  quod  urna  capit. 

tene,  sacer  vates,  flammae  rapuere  rogales 

pectoribus  pasci  nee  timuere  tuis  ? 
aurea  sanctorum  potuissent  templa  deorum 

28.    defugiunt y.  C.  Jahn  from  2  Mss. 

26.  Pieriis  .  .  .  aquis:  the  in-  likewise,  may  be  designated  the 
spiring    springs    of    the     Muses,      Nemesis  book. 

Aganippe,  Hippocrene,  Castaha.  32.    cura  =  amor  =  amata  ;  cf. 

27.  Averno:   the  term  is  typical  Prop.  i.  i,  36,  n. 
fortheentrance  to  the  lower  world.  33.   Cf.  Tib.  i,  3,  23-24. 

28.  Cf.  I,  15,  32;  Prop.  3.  2,  35.  Cf.  2,  6,  39;  Tib.  1,3,52; 
25-26.  Prop.  3,  7,  18. 

29.  Troiani  fama  laboris:  the  37.  The  imperatives  have  con- 
Iliad.  cessive  force. 

30.  The  Odyssey,  represented  40.  Cf.  Met.  12,  610  sq.  :  iatn 
by  Penelope's  w  ell-known  trick  to  cinis  est ;  et  de  tarn  magno  restat 
put  off  the  suitors.  Achille  nescio  quid,  parvam  quod 

31.  The  first  book  of  Tibullus  no7i  bene  conpleat  urnatn. 

may  be  called  a  Delia  book,  though  41.   tene:  the   question   is   ex- 

not  with  so  good  ground  as  the  clamatory,     expressing    surprised 

Cynthia  Monobiblos  of  Propertius  incredulity, 
is  so  named.     The  =;econd  book,  43.    potuissent:  %z.  flammae. 

398 


AMORVM    LIBER   III 


[9,  62 


urere,  quae  tantum  sustinuere  nefas. 
45      avertit  vultus,  Erycis  quae  possidet  arces  : 

sunt  quoque,  qui  lacrimas  continuisse  negant. 
sed  tamen  hoc  melius,  quam  si  Phaeacia  tcllus 

ignotutn  viJi  supposuisset  humo. 
hinc  certe  madidos  fugientis  pressit  ocellos 
50  mater  et  in  cineres  ultima  dona  tulit ; 

hinc  soror  in  partem  misera  cum  matre  doloris 

venit  inornatas  dilaniata  comas, 
cumque  tuis  sua  iunxerunt  Nemesisque  priorque 
oscula  nee  solos  destituere  rogos. 
55      Delia  descendens  '  felicius '  inquit  '  amata 
sum  tibi :  vixisti,  dum  tuus  ignis  eram,' 
cui  Nemesis  'quid'  ait  'tibi  sunt  mea  damna  dolori? 

me  tenuit  moriens  deficiente  manu.' 
si  tamen  e  nobis  aliquid  nisi  noraen  et  umbra 
60  restat,  in  Elysia  valle  TibuUus  erit : 

obvius  huic  venias  hedera  iuvenalia  cinctus 
tempora  cum  Calvo,  docte  Catulle,  tuo ; 


44.  sustinuere  :  i.e.  ventured. 

45.  quae  :  Venus  Erycina.whose 
temple  was  on  the  heights  of  Mt. 
Eryx. 

46.  continuisse:  sc.  ie ;  cf.  Tib. 

1,3.  27. 

47.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  3. 

49.  hinc  .  .  .  hinc :  '  on  one  side 
.  .  .  on  the  other.'  —  fugientis: 
'as  his  spirit  fled.''  —  pressit: 
'closed.' 

52.  inornatas  dilaniata  comas : 
cf.  V.  II,  n. 

53.  tuis :  sc.  propinquis.  — 
priorque:  Delia;  cf.  Tib.  i.  i.  61, 
for  the  poetic  prophecy  of  which 
this  was  the  fulfillment. 


55.  descendens:  from  the  fu- 
neral pyre. 

56.  vixisti:  cf.  Cat.  68,  34.  n. 
—  ignis:  cf.  2,  16,  II,  n. 

58.  Thus  Nemesis  claims  for 
herself  the  fulfillment  of  what 
Tibullus  in  i,  i,  60,  had  wished 
might  be  the  function  of  Delia. 

59.  Cf.  Trist.  4,  10,  85  ;  Cat. 
96,  I,  n. ;  Prop.  2,  34<  53  =  ^i  P'^^i 
Stygias  aliquid  restabimus  undas. 

61.  hedera  .  .  .  cinctus:  the  ivy 
of  Bacchus,  inspirer  of  poetry,  was 
appropriate  for  poets'  wreaths. 

62.  Calvo:  cf.  Intr.  §  12. — 
docte:  cf.  Intr.  §  16. 


399 


9,63] 


P.    OVIDI   NASONIS 


tu  quoque,  si  falsum  est  temerati  crimen  amid, 
sanguinis  atque  animae  prodige  Galle  tuae. 
65      his  comes  umbra  tua  est;    siqua  est  modo  corporis 
umbra, 
auxisti  numeros,  culte  Tibulle,  pios. 
ossa  quieta,  precor,  tuta  requiescite  in  urna, 
et  sit  humus  cineri  non  onerosa  tuo ! 


15 

Quaere  novum  vatem,  tenerorum  mater  Amorum : 
raditur  hie  elegis  ultima  meta  meis ; 

quos  ego  conposui,  Paeligni  ruris  alumnus 
(nee  me  deliciae  dedecuere  meae), 

siquid  id  est,  usque  a  proavis  vetus  ordinis  heres, 


63.  amici :  Augustus ;  cf.  Intr. 
§  12.  —  The  form  of  the  hypothesis 
implies  the  behef  of  Ovid,  which 
was  probably  well  grounded,  that 
the  particular  accusation  which 
drove  Gallus  to  suicide  was  false. 

65.    Cf.  V.  59,  n. 

67.  Cf.  Buecheler,  Car.  Epig. 
passim. 

68.  =S.  T-T-L.  Cf.  Tib.  2,6, 
30,  n. 

In  saying  farewell  to  erotic  elegy 
the  poet  takes  occasion  also  to 
speak  of  his  origin  and  to  claim 
great  fame  for  his  work ;  cf.  Hor. 
Car.  3,  30;  Prop,  i,  22. 

1-2:  'Venus,  search  for  a  new 
bard!  3-16:  Sulmo  shall  hence- 
forth be  known  as  the  birthplace  of 


Ovid,  the  poet  of  love;  17-20: 
but  now  Bacchus  calls  me  on  to 
broader  fields.' 

1.  mater:  Venus. 

2.  raditur  .  .  .  meta :  this  kind 
of  poetic  composition  has  run  its 
course,  and  according  to  the  figure 
of  circus  racing  is  now  for  the  last 
time  rounding  the  meta.  In  the 
race  the  driver's  skill  was  shown 
by  avoiding  the  />ieta  as  narrowly 
as  possible. 

3.  alumnus :  the  relation  of  a 
native  to  his  country. 

4.  deliciae :  erotic  poetry ;  cf. 
Cat.  68.  26.  —  dedecuere:  Ovid 
was  more  inclined  to  speak  apolo- 
geticallv  in  after  years,  however. 

5.  The  same  verse  occurs  in 
Trist.  4.  10.  7  ;  Ovid  was  proud 
that  he   was  no  parve7iii  knight, 


400 


AMORVM   LIBER   III 


[15,  20 


10 


15 


20 


non  modo  militiae  turbine  factus  eques. 
Mantua  Vergilio  gauclet,  Verona  CatuUo : 

Paelignae  dicar  gloria  gentis  ego, 
quam  sua  libertas  ad  honesta  coegerat  arma, 

cum  timuit  socias  anxia  Roma  manus. 
atque  aliquis  spectans  hospes  Sulmonis  aquosi 

moenia,  quae  campi  iugera  pauca  tenent, 
'  quae  tantum  '  dicat  '  potuistis  ferre  poetam, 

quantulacumque  estis,  vos  ego  magna  voco.' 
culte  puer,  puerique  parens  Amathusia  culti, 

aurea  de  campo  vellite  signa  meo. 
corniger  increpuit  thyrso  graviore  Lyaeus : 

pulsanda  est  magnis  area  maior  equis. 
inbelles  elegi,  genialis  Musa,  valete, 

post  mea  mansurum  fata  superstes  opus ! 


but  belonged  to  an  old  equestrian 
line  ;  cf.  Intr.  §  38. 

6.  As  a  slave  was  whirled 
around  when  formally  freed,  so 
the  whirligig  of  military  life  often 
suddenly  made  an  equestrian  out 
of  a  man  of  ignoble  birth. 

7.  Cf.  Mart.  14,  195  :  Tantum 
magna  sno  debet  Verona  Catiillo, 
qnantttm  parva  sno  Mantua  Ver- 
gilio. 

8.  gloria  :   '  pride.' 

9.  libertas  :  '  longing  after  free- 
dom.' 

10.  socias :  the  Paeligni  were 
leaders  in  the  bellum  sociale. 

11.  Cf.  Prop.  4,  I,  65-66. — 
aquosi:  cf.  Trist.  4,  10,  3. 

15.  Amathusia :  like  Cytheris, 
Cypria,  Erycina,  and  other  similar 
proper  adjectives,   referring   to  a 

ROM.    EL.    POETS  —  26  4^ 


favorite   seat   of  the    worship   of 
Venus,  here  Amathus  in  Cyprus. 

i6.  Decamp !  your  campaign 
is  finished. 

17.  corniger:  cf.  Tib.  2,  i,  3, 
n. — thyrso  graviore:  an  inspira- 
tion to  more  serious  writing. 
Bacchus  was  responsible  for 
tragedy  as  well  as  for  comedy,  and 
was  looked  upon  as  a  patron  of 
all  poetry.      Cf.  Prop.  3,  2,  9,  n. 

18.  area  maior :  the  figure  of 
verse  2  is  repeated  in  another 
form;  cf.  3,  i,  26:  '■'•  liaec  anijuo''"' 
dices  "  area  facta  meost^'' ;  Prop.  2, 
10,  2. 

19.  genialis  :  in  the  modern 
sense  of  the  word;  cf.  2,  13,  7: 
genialiaque  arva  Canopi. 

20.  fata:  cf.  Prop,  i,  19,  1-2, 
n. 


«3.  i] 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


EPISTVLARVM   HEROIDVM    LIBER 


13 


LAODAMIA    PROTESILAO 

Mittit  et  optat  amans,  quo  mittitur,  ire  salutem 
Haemonis  Haemonio  Laodamia  viro. 

Aulide  te  fama  est  vento  retinente  morari : 
ah,  me  cum  fugeres,  hie  ubi  ventus  erat? 

tum  freta  debuerant  vestris  obsistere  remis, 
illud  erat  saevis  utile  tempus  aquis. 

oscula  plura  viro  mandataque  plura  dedissem  : 


HEROIDES,   13. 

For  the  Heroides  cf.  Intr.  §  39; 
Prop.  4,  3,  Intr.  For  the  story  of 
Laodamia  cf.  Cat.  68,  73,  n  ;  Horn. 
//.  2.  698-702  ;  Lucian,  Dial.  Mort. 
23.  The  tradition  that  Protesi- 
laus,  allowed  to  return  to  earth  to 
visit  his  wife,  found  her  embracine: 
his  image,  is  here  utilized  by  Ovid 
in  another  form  (vv.  151-158). 

1-2:  '  Loving  greetings !  3-10: 
Why  did  you  sail,  against  unwill- 
ing winds?  11-28:  I  said,  "Good- 
bye," watched  you  out  of  sight,  and 
swooned  away;  why  did  I  not  die? 
29-42  :  Since  then  I  mourn  ;  43-64  : 
Paris,  Menelaos,  ye  gods,  spare 
my  husband  !  How  I  dread  those 
Trojan  places  and  men!  65-92: 
Be  careful !  you  have  no  need  to 
risk  your  life  ;  and  the  omens  were 
unpropitious   on   your  departure ; 


93-106 :  And  that  dreadful  oracle! 
see  that  you  don't  fulfill  it!  but 
hurry  back  to  comfort  me.  107- 
122:  Why  in  my  visions  are  you 
sad?  When  shall  I  see  you  in 
very  truth,  and  embrace  you  as  I 
listen  to  the  story  of  your  deeds? 
123-136:  Troy!  gloomy  thought! 
why  should  the  Greeks  hurry 
thither  for  such  a  cause?  137-150 : 
How  I  envy  the  women  of  Troy 
and  their  happy  husbands,  who 
can  cheer  each  other  before  and 
after  battle!  1 51-158:  I  can  only 
comfort  myself  with  your  image. 
159-164:  I  will  follow  you  in  life 
or  death.  165-166:  Again  I  say, 
be  careful ! ' 

2.  Haemonis  =  Thessala  ;     cf. 
Prop.  2,  10,  2. 

6.  saevis  :  i.e.  esse  saevis  ('  for- 
bidding'). 

7.  dedissem:    ■s.o..  si  freta  obsti- 
tissent. 


402 


EPISTVLARVM  HEROIDVM   LIBER  [13,  33 

et  sunt  quae  volui  dicere  multa  tibi. 
raptus  es  hinc  praeceps,  et  qui  tua  vela  vocaret, 
lo  quem  cuperent  nautae,  non  ego,  ventus  erat. 

ventus  erat  nautis  aptus,  non  aptus  amanti : 

solvor  ab  amplexu,  Protesilae,  tuo, 
linguaque  mandantis  verba  inperfecta  reliquit : 

vix  illud  potui  dicere  triste  '  vale.' 
is      incubuit  Boreas  abreptaque  vela  tetendit, 

iamque  meus  longe  Protesilaus  erat. 
dum  potui  spectare  virum,  spectare  iuvabat, 

sumque  tuos  oculos  usque  secuta  meis. 
ut  te  non  poteram,  poteram  tua  vela  videre, 
20  vela  diu  vultus  detinuere  meos. 

at  postquam  nee  te,  nee  vela  fugacia  vidi, 

et  quod  spectarem,  nil  nisi  pontus  erat, 
lux  quoque  tecum  abiit,  tenebrisque  exanguis  obortis 

succiduo  dicor  procubuisse  genu. 
25      vix  socer  Iphiclus,  vix  me  grandaevus  Acastus, 

vix  mater  gelida  maesta  refecit  aqua, 
officium  fecere  pium,  sed  inutile  nobis: 

indignor,  miserae  non  licuisse  mori ! 
ut  rediit  animus,  pariter  rediere  dolores, 
30  pectora  legitimus  casta  momordit  amor. 

nee  mihi  pectendos  cura  est  praebere  capillos, 

nee  libet  aurata  corpora  veste  tegi. 
ut,  quas  pampinea  tetigisse  Bicorniger  hasta, 

13.   mandantis:  ?>z.  )nei  {^)nea) .  28.   indignor:  '  I  feel  abused.' 

16.    erat  =  aberat.  29.   rediit :  it  is  in  compounds  of 

23.    obortis:    sc.  wihi  (=  meis  eo  in  Ovid  that  the  long  quantity 

oculis).  is  often  found. 

25.    Iphiclus  :  king  of  Phylace  ;  30.    Cf.  Prop.  4,  3,  49. 

cf.  V.  35.  —  Acastus:    Laodamia's  33.    quas:     the    Bacchantes. — 

father ;  according  to  one  tradition,  pampinea  .  .  .   Bicorniger  hasta  • 

one  of  the  Argonauts.  the  thyrsus*  cf.  Am.  3,  15.  17. 

403. 


13.  34] 


P.    OVIDI   NASONIS 


creditur,  hue  illuc,  qua  furor  egit,  eo. 
35      conveniunt  matres  Phylaceides  et  mihi  clamant 

'indue  regales,  Laodamia,  sinus!  ' 
scilicet  ipsa  geram  saturatas  murice  lanas, 

bella  sub  Iliacis  moenibus  ille  gerat  ? 
ipsa  comas  pectar,  galea  caput  ille  prematur: 
40  ipsa  novas  vestes,  dura  vir  arma  ferat  ? 

qua  possum,  squalore  tuos  imitata  labores 

dicar  et  haec  belli  tempora  tristis  agam. 
Dyspari  Priamide,  damno  formose  tuorum, 

tarn  sis  hostis  iners,  quam  malus  hospes  eras! 
45      aut  te  Taenariae  faciem  culpasse  maritae, 

aut  illi  vellem  displicuisse  tuam. 
tu,  qui  pro  rapta  nimium,  Menelae,  laboras, 

ei  mihi,  quam  multis  flebilis  ultor  eris  ! 
di,  precor,  a  nobis  omen  removete  sinistrum, 
50  et  sua  det  reduci  vir  mens  arma  lovi. 

sed  timeo,  quotiens  subiit  miserabile  bellum : 

more  nivis  lacrimae  sole  madentis  eunt. 
Ilion  et  Tenedos  Simoisque  et  Xanthus  et  Ide 

nomina  sunt  ipso  paene  tinienda  sono. 

13.    37-40    are  mostly  lost  from  P.      37.    lanas  co  vestes  viilg.      38.    gerat 
vulg.  geret  Gw.       40.    ferat  viilg.  feret  GV.       41.    qua  vulg.  quo  «. 


35.  Phylaceides :  Laodamia  is 
naturally  in  her  husband's  home 
at  Phylace. 

37.  scilicet:  ironical. 

38.  ille  :  Protesilaus  ;  cf.  Prop. 
I,  8,  28,  n.  on  ilia. 

41.    qua  =  qiioqito  modo 

43.    Dyspari :  '  Paris,  ill-omened 

son  of  Priam  ' ;  cf.  Horn.  //.  3,  39 ; 

AvcTTrapi   Ciho%   apiarc,  ywai/itavc? 

i^TTcpoTreuTa. 


45.  Taenariae  .  .  .  maritae  : 
Helen.  Taenarum  is  the  dreaded 
cape  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
Laconia. 

46.  vellem:  of  a  vain  wish. 

48.  flebilis  :  '  to  cause  tears  ' ; 
cf.  Hor.  Car.  i,  24,  9  :  multis  ille 
bimis  flebilis  occidit. 

50.  reduci  .  .  .  lovi:  Juppiter 
as  the  author  of  safe  return. 

51.  subiit :  sc  animo. 


404 


EPISTVLARVM   HEROIDVM    LIBER  [13,  78 

55      nec  rapere  ausurus,  nisi  se  defendere  posset, 
hospes  erat :  vires  noverat  ille  suas. 
venerat,  ut  fama  est,  multo  spectabilis  auro, 
quique  suo  Phrygias  corpore  ferret  opes, 
classe  virisque  potens,  per  quae  fera  bella  geruntur : 
60  et  sequitur  regni  pars  quota  quemque  sui  ? 

his  ego  te  victam,  consors  Ledaea  gemellis, 
suspicor :  haec  Danais  posse  nocere  puto. 
Hectora  nescio  quern  timeo  :  Paris  Hectora  dixit 
ferrea  sanguinea  bella  movere  manu. 
65      Hectora,  quisquis  is  est,  si  sum  tibi  cara,  caveto : 
signatum  memori  pectore  nomen  habe. 
hunc  ubi  vitaris,  alios  vitare  memento 

et  multos  illic  Hectoras  esse  puta 
et  facito,  ut  dicas,  quotiens  pugnare  parabis : 
70  '  parcere  me  iussit  Laodamia  sibi.' 

si  cadere  Argolico  fas  est  sub  milite  Troiam, 

te  quoque  non  uUum  vulnus  habente  cadat! 
pugnet  et  adversos  tendat  Menelaus  in  hostis : 

[ut  rapiat  Paridi,  quae  Paris  ipsa  sibi !  '   Tiijo-^  S 

75      inruat  et  causa  quem  vicit,  vincat  et  armis  :] 
hostibus  e  mediis  nupta  petenda  virost. 
causa  tua  est  dispar :  tu  tantum  vivere  pugna 
inque  pios  dominae  posse  redire  sinus ! 

74-75.    no/  in  PG.       78.    pios  vu/g.  pius  P«. 

59.  quae  refers  to  an  antecedent  sors  cf.  Afet.  8,  444  :  consorti  san- 
including  classe  virisque.  gnine. 

60.  quota  :  '  how  small ' ;  i.e.  in  63.  Laodamia  has  apparently 
proportion  to  the  vast  wealth  kept  heard  only  a  rumor  of  what  Paris 
in  reserve  at  home.  said    to    Helen,   and    knows    but 

61.  his:    i.e.   opibus.  —  consors  vaguely  of  Hector. 
Ledaea:  Helen,  daughter  of  Leda,  71.    fas  est :  '  is  decreed.' 

and  sister  of  the  twins,  Castor  and  77.    vivere  :  poetic  infinitive  of 

Pollux.     For  a  similar  use  of  con-      purpose. 

405 


13,  79]  P-    OVIDI   NASONIS 

parcite,  Dardanidae,  de  tot,  precor,  hostibus  uni, 
80  ne  meus  ex  illo  corpore  sanguis  eat ! 

non  est,  quern  deceat  nudo  concurrere  ferro 

saevaque  in  oppositos  pectora  ferre  viros ; 
fortius  ille  potest  multo,  quam  pugnat,  amare : 

bella  gerant  alii,  Protesilaus  amet ! 
S5      nunc  fateor :  volui  revocare,  animusque  ferebat; 

substitit  auspicii  lingua  timore  mali. 
cum  foribus  velles  ad  Troiam  exire  paternis, 

pes  tuus  offenso  limine  signa  dedit ; 
ut  vidi,  ingemui  tacitoque  in  pectora  dixi : 
90  '  signa  reversuri  sint,  precor,  ista  viri ! ' 

haec  tibi  nunc  refero,  ne  sis  animosus  in  armis ; 

fac,  meus  in  ventos  hie  timor  omnis  eat ! 
sors  quoque  nescio  quem  fato  designat  iniquo, 

qui  primus  Danaum  Troada  tangat  humum  : 
95      infelix,  quae  prima  virum  lugebit  ademptum  ! 

di  faciant,  ne  tu  strenuus  esse  velis ! 
inter  mille  rates  tua  sit  millensima  puppis 

iamque  fatigatas  ultima  verset  aquas ! 
hoc  quoque  praemoneo  :  de  nave  novissimus  exi ! 
100         non  est,  quo  properes,  terra  paterna  tibi. 
cum  venies,  remoque  move  veloque  carinam 

inque  tuo  celerem  litore  siste  gradum ! 
sive  latet  Phoebus  seu  terris  altior  exstat, 

tu  mihi  luce  dolor,  tu  mihi  nocte  venis, 

81.    est:  sc.  Protesilaus.  The  word  is  used  loosely,  as  if  one 

86.    Laodamia       hesitated       to  sort  of  divination  was  essentially 

speak,    for    fear   she    might    add  the  same  as  another, 
some  ill-omened  word.  97.    mille:   11 86  in  Homer;  cf. 

88.    Cf.  Tib.  I.  3.  19-20.  Prop.  2,  26,  38.  n. 

90.    Laodamia  tried  to  interpret  104.   dolor :  almost  the  same  as 

the  omen  as  favorable.  cura,   i.e.    a   cause   for   worry.  — 

93.    sors:  'an  oracular  response.'  venis  =  es. 

406 


EPISTVLARVM    HEROIDVM    LIBER 


[13,  126 


105     nocte  tamen  quam  luce  magis  :  nox  grata  pucllis, 
quarum  suppositus  colla  lacertus  habet. 
aucupor  in  lecto  mendaces  caelibe  somnos : 

dum  careo  veris,  gaudia  falsa  iuvant. 
sed  tua  cur  nobis  pallens  occurrit  imago  ? 
no         cur  venit  a  verbis  multa  querella  tuis  ? 
excutior  somno  simulacraque  noctis  adoro, 

nulla  caret  fumo  Thessalis  ara  meo  : 
tura  damus  lacrimamque  super,  qua  sparsa  relucet, 
ut  solet  adfuso  surgere  flamma  mero. 
115     quando  ego,  te  reducem  cupidis  amplexa  lacertis, 
languida  laetitia  solvar  ab  ipsa  mea  ? 
quando  erit,  ut  lecto  mecum  bene  iunctus  in  uno 

militiae  referas  splendida  facta  tuae  ? 
quae  mihi  dum  referes,  quamvis  audire  iuvabit, 
120         multa  tamen  rapies  oscula,  multa  dabis. 
semper  in  his  apte  narrantia  verba  resistunt : 

promptior  est  dulci  lingua  referre  mora, 
sed  cum  Troia  subit,  subeunt  ventique  fretumque, 
spes  bona  sollicito  victa  timore  cadit. 
125     hoc  quoque,  quod  venti  prohibent  exire  carinas, 
me  movet :  invitis  ire  paratis  aquis. 


124.    sollicito  /l/^>->^<r/ sollicitae  Riese  solliciti  P, 


107.  mendaces  :  because  in  slum- 
ber she  sees  Jiiendacia  so/nnia,  ap- 
parently bringing  Protesilaus  to 
her  side. 

III.  adoro  :  i.e.  to  ward  off  any 
untoward  effect;  cf.  Pers.  2,  15  : 
Tiberino  in  gurgite  uiergis  mane 
caput  bis  terque,  et  nodeni  flumine 
purgas. 

114.    Cf.  Prop.  4,  3,  60. 

116.   languida  laetitia  .  .  .  ab.  .  . 


mea:  'fainting  for  very  joy.'  — 
solvar:  'sink.'  —  ipsa:  for  a  similar 
position  of //^j(7,  cf.  Her.  12,  18: 
et  caderct  cultii  ciiltor  ab  ipse  suo. 

121.  his  :  i.e.  osculis.  —  apte  : 
to  be  taken  with  resistunt. 

123.   subit,  subeunt  :  cf.  v.  51,  n. 

125.  exire  :  i.e.  from  Aulis. 

126.  invitis  .  .  .  aquis  :  conces- 
sive. —  paratis,  like  prohibent 
(v.   125)  and  datis   (v.  128),  and 


407 


,3,  127]  P-   OVIDI   NASONIS 

quis  velit  in  patriam  vento  prohibente  reverti? 

a  patria  pelago  vela  vetante  datis ! 
ipse  suam  non  praebet  iter  Neptunus  ad  urbem. 
130         quo  ruitis  ?  vestras  quisque  redite  domos  ! 
quo  ruitis,  Danai  ?  ventos  audite  vetantis  ! 

non  subiti  casus,  numinis  ista  morast. 
quid  petitur  tanto  nisi  turpis  adultera  bello  ? 

dum  licet,  Inachiae  vertite  vela  rates ! 
135     sed  quid  ago  ?  revoco  ?  revocaminis  omen  abesto, 

blandaque  conpositas  aura  secundet  aquas. 
Troasin  invideo,  quae  sic  lacrimosa  suorum 

f  unera  conspicient,  nee  procul  hostis  erit : 
ipsa  suis  manibus  forti  nova  nupta  marito 
140         inponet  galeam  barbaraque  arma  dabit. 

arma  dabit,  dumque  arma  dabit,  simul  oscula  sumet  — 

hoc  genus  officii  dulce  duobus  erit  — 
producetque  virum,  dabit  et  mandata  reverti, 

et  dicet  '  referas  ista  fac  arma  lovi ! ' 
145    ille  ferens  dominae  mandata  recentia  secum 

pugnabit  caute  respicietque  domum. 
exuet  haec  reduci  clipeum  galeam  que  resolvet 

137.   Troasin  Salmasius  Troas  P  TroaHas  GV.  quae  sic  vtilg.  quae  si  Hein- 
sius  (P  ?)  qui  sic  V  (P  ?)  quamvis  Lehrs. 

the  other  present   tenses   in   this  135.    She  comes  to  herself,  and 

passage,    pictures     Laodamia    for  fears  she  may  have  uttered  some 

the    moment     imagining     herself  ill-omened  words  in  so  speaking, 
back  at  the  time  of  the  starting  of  137.   Troasin  :  Greek  dative  plu- 

the  expedition.  ral  of   Troas.  —  quae   sic :  '  even 

129.    suam  .   .  .  urbem:      Nep-  though,  as  it  is.  they.'  —  suorum: 

tune  and  Apollo,  according  to  tra-  whether  lovers  or  husbands, 
dition,  built  the  walls  of  Troy.  144.   lovi:    cf.     v.    50.       Ovid 

134.    Inachiae  :    Argive.  Greek  ;  makes  the  Greek  Laodamia  repre- 

from  Inachus,  the  traditional  first  sent  the  Trojan  wife  as  thinking 

king  of  Argos.  in  terms  of  the  Roman  religion! 

408 


EPISTVLARVM    HEROIDVM    LIBER  [13,  166 

excipietque  suo  corpora  lassa  sinu. 
nos  sumus  incertae ;  nos  anxius  omnia  cogit, 
150        quae  possunt  fieri,  facta  putare  timor. 

dum  tamen  arma  geres  diverse  miles  in  orbe, 

quae  referat  vultus  est  mihi  cera  tuos. 
illi  blanditias,  illi  tibi  debita  verba 
dicimus,  amplexus  accipit  ilia  meos. 
155     crede  mihi,  plus  est,  quam  quod  videatur,  imago: 
adde  sonum  cerae  —  Protesilaus  erit. 
banc  specto  teneoque  sinu  pro  coniuge  vero, 
ut,  tamquam  possit  verba  referre,  queror. 
per  reditus  corpusque  tuum,  mea  numina,  iuro 
160         perque  pares  animi  coniugiique  faces 

perque,  quod  ut  videam  canis  albere  capillis, 

quod  tecum  possis  ipse  referre,  caput, 
me  tibi  venturam  comitem,  quocumque  vocaris, 
sive  —  quod  heu  !  timeo,  sive  superstes  eris. 
165     ultima  mandato  claudetur  epistula  parvo  : 
si  tibi  cura  mei,  sit  tibi  cura  tui ! 

161-162.    bracketed  by  Postgate.        162.    quod  tecum  vulg.  mox  tutum  Riese. 

152.    cera:  wax    likenesses   of  161.    perque:  to  be  taken  with 

lovers  are  referred  to  in  Rem.  Am.  caput.  —  ut  videam  :  optative. 
723:  si potes,  et  cer as  remove.  162.    ipse:  'in    person,'   rather 

158.  Cf.  Prop.  4,  II,  83.  than  have  his  ashes  brought  home 

159.  numina:  i.e.  reditus  cor-  by  some  kind  friend. 

pusque   tuum  ;   cf   Fast.    2,  842  :  164.    sive  —  :   Laodamia  avoids 

perquettios ManeSfqui mihi numen      speaking  the  ill-omened  word  re- 
erunt.  ferring  to  death. 


409 


3.0 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


TRISTIVM 
LIBER    PRIMVS 


Cum  subit  illius  tristissima  noctis  imago, 
qua  mihi  supremum  tempus  in  urbe  fuit, 

cum  repeto  noctem,  qua  tot  mihi  cara  reliqui, 
labitur  ex  oculis  nunc  quoque  gutta  meis. 

iam  prope  lux  aderat,  qua  me  discedere  Caesar 


TRISTIA,  I,  3 

Ovid's  last  night  in  Rome.  Cf. 
Intr.  §  38.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  pathetic  pictures  Ovid  has 
left  us,  designed,  indeed,  to  move 
Augustus  to  relent,  yet  true  to  life 
in  its  details. 

1-4:  'The  thought  of  that  night 
moves  me  to  tears.  5-12:  Though 
the  time  had  arrived,  I  was  too 
dazed  to  act  or  plan.  13-26:  At 
length,  trying  to  collect  myself, 
I  spoke  farewells  ;  it  seemed  like 
a  funeral,  or  the  fall  of  Troy. 
27-46 :  As  it  grew  late,  I  ad- 
dressed the  gods ;  my  wife,  too, 
with  sobs  and  disheveled  locks, 
offered  many  vain  petitions.  47- 
68  :  Night  hastened.  Often  I  es- 
sayed to  go,  yet  multiplied  excuses 
for  delay.  Why  hurry  from  Rome 
to  Scythia?  Every  moment  with 
my  dear  ones  is  precious.  69- 
76 :  But  amid  my  tears  and  good- 
byes up  rose  the  daystar,  and  I 


tore  myself  away.  77-90  :  Loud 
was  the  wailing  of  my  loved  ones. 
My  wife  would  fain  have  accom- 
panied me ;  but  I  went  like  one 
going  alone  to  his  own  obsequies. 
91-102:  They  say  she  swooned, 
then  reviving  cried  unto  the  gods 
and  mourned  as  for  the  dead.  She 
longed  to  die  ;  but  may  she  rather 
live  for  me  ! ' 

1.  subit:  the  thought  is  com- 
monly completed  by  animion  or 
a  similar  word;  cf.  Met.  7,  170: 
ani}nuni  subiit  Aeeta  relictus. 

2.  in  urbe:  from  '  the  city' no 
Roman  could  bear  long  to  be  sepa- 
rated ;  cf.  Intr.  §  38  ;  Cic.  Ad  Alt. 
5.  II,  1  :  nou  did  potest  quatn 
flagrem  desiderio  urbis. 

4.  Cf.  Prop.  4,  I,  144. —  nunc 
quoque  :  this  elegy,  as  well  as  the 
rest  of  Book  i,  was  written  on  the 
journey  to  Tomi. 

5.  Xvcx.  =  dies .  Ovid's  descrip- 
tion of  the  last  night  seems  to 
include  that  of  at  least  part  of  the 
preceding  day. 


410 


TRISTIVM    LIBER   I 


[3.21 


10 


15 


20 


finibus  extremae  iusserat  Ausoniae. 
nee  spatium  fuerat,  nee  mens  satis  apta  parandi : 

torpuerant  longa  pectora  nostra  mora, 
non  mihi  servorum,  eomites  non  cura  legendi, 

non  aptae  profugo  vestis  opisve  fuit. 
non  aliter  stupui,  quam  qui  lovis  ignibus  ietus 

vivit  et  est  vitae  nescius  ipse  suae, 
ut  tamen  banc  animi  nubem  dolor  ipse  removit 

ut  tandem  sensus  convaluere  mei, 
adloquor  extremum  maestos  abiturus  amicos, 

qui  modo  de.  multls  unus  et  alter  erant. 
uxor  amans  flentem  flens  acrius  ipsa  tenebat, 

imbre  per  indignas  usque  cadente  genas. 
nata  procul  Libycis  aberat  diversa  sub  oris : 

non  poterat  fati  certior  esse  mei. 
quocumque  adspiceres,  luctus  gemitusque  sonabant, 


6.  finibus  extremae  .  .  .  Auso- 
niae =  finibus  extretiiis  Ausoniae. 
Residence  at  Tomi  would  remove 
the  poet  entirely  from  '  the  western 
land'  of  promise. 

7.  parandi  depends  upon  spa- 
tium. 

8.  longa  .  .  .  mora:  not  to  be 
taken  absolutely,  of  course  (cf. 
V.  7)  ;  but  from  the  time  the 
news  of  the  decree  of  banishment 
reached  him  on  the  island  of  Elba 
till  the  day  of  his  actual  departure 
from  Rome  there  had  been  little 
enough  time  for  actual  prepara- 
tions, but  all  too  much  opportunity 
for  brooding  over  his  fate. 

9.  Note  the  careless  inconsis- 
tency of  construction,  in  harmony 
with  the  mood  of  the  writer  at  the 


time.  As  the  sentence  against 
Ovid  was  only  lelegatio,  he  might 
take  with  him  what  or  whom  he 
pleased. 

13.  animi  nubem:  i.e.  the  tor- 
por of  V.  8. 

15.  extremum:  'for  the  last 
time.' 

16.  modo  belongs  with  multis  ; 
cf.  Hor  Car.  1,35,26:  diffugiunt 
cadis  cum  faece  sic  cat  is  amici, 
ferre  iuguni  pariter  dolosi. 

17.  uxor:  cf.  4,  10,  73,  n. 

18.  imbre:  cf.  Cat.  68,  56,  n. 

19.  nata:  cf.  4,  io.75,n.  This 
daughter's  second  husband  was 
Cornelius  Fidus,  who  was  at  this 
time  proconsul  in  Africa. 

21.  adspiceres:  cf.  H.  602,  3 
and  4. 


411 


3,22] 


P.    OVIDI   NASONIS 


formaque  non  taciti  funeris  intus  erat. 
femina  virque  meo,  pueri  quoque,  funere  maerent: 
inque  domo  lacrimas  angulus  omnis  habet. 
25      si  licet  exemplis  in  parvo  grandibus  uti : 
haec  facies  Troiae,  cum  caperetur,  erat. 
iamque  quiescebant  voces  hominumque  canumque, 

Lunaque  nocturnos  alta  regebat  equos. 
banc  ego  suspiciens  et  ad  banc  Capitolia  cernens, 
30  quae  nostro  frustra  iuncta  fuere  lari, 

'  numina  vicinis  babitantia  sedibus,'  inquam, 

'  iamque  oculis  numquam  templa  videnda  meis, 
dique  relinquendi,  quos  urbs  habet  alta  Quirini, 
este  salutati  tempus  in  omne  mihi  ! 
35      et  quamquam  sero  clipeum  post  vulnera  sumo, 
attamen  banc  odiis  exonerate  fugam 
caelestique  viro,  quis  me  deceperit  error, 

dicite,  pro  culpa  ne  scelus  esse  putet, 
ut  quod  vos  scitis,  poenae  quoque  sentiat  auctor: 
40  placato  possum  non  miser  esse  deo.' 


3.   25.    parvo  A  parvis  GHPV. 


29.  ad  banc  AGHPV  ab  hac  to. 


22.  non  taciti  funeris  :  cf.  Hor. 
Sat.  I,  6,  42  :  /lie,  si  plostra 
ducenta  conciirrantqtie  foro  tria 
ftinera  magna^  sonabit  cornua 
quod  xiiticatque  tubas. 

26.  Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  2,  486  sqq. : 
at  dotniis  interior  gemitu  mis- 
eroque  tumultu  miscetur,  etc. 

27.  iamque  quiescebant:  i.e.  it 
was  bedtime  in  Rome. 

28.  equos  :  Luna  drove  a  biga  ; 
cf.  Prellers,  Vol.  i,  p.  328. 

29.  ad  banc :  '  by  her  light.'' 
Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  4,  513  :  ad  lunani 
qtiaeruntiir  .   .   .  herbae.  —  Capi- 


tolia :  poetic  plural.  The  poet 
lived  near  by. 

30.  frustra :  i.e  since  their 
pro.ximity  had  not  saved  him  from 
this  disaster.  —  lari  =  domo. 

33.  urbs  .  .  .  alta:  cf.  Verg. 
Ae)i.  1,7:   altae  ?fioenia  Romae. 

35.  The  proverb  means  much 
the  same  as  to  "  lock  the  stable 
door  after  the  horse  has  been 
stolen." 

37.  caelestique  viro:  an  inter- 
esting variation  on  the  more  fa- 
miliar dit'o  Augusto;  cf.  v.  40.  — 
error:  cf.  Intr.  §  38. 


412 


TRISTIVM    LIBER   I 


[3.60 


hac  prece  adoravi  superos  ego :  pluribus  uxor, 

singultu  medios  impediente  sonos. 
ilia  etiam  ante  lares  passis  adstrata  capillis 
contigit  extinctos  ore  tremente  focos, 
45      multaque  in  adversos  effudit  verba  penates 
pro  deplorato  non  valitura  viro. 
iamque  morae  spatium  nox  praecipitata  negabat, 

versaque  ab  axe  suo  Parrhasis  Arctos  erat. 
quid  facerem  ?  blando  patriae  retinebar  amore  : 
50  ultima  sed  iussae  nox  erat  ilia  fugae. 

ah  !  quotiens  aliquo  dixi  properante  '  quid  urges  ? 

vel  quo  festinas  ire,  vel  unde,  vide ! ' 
ah !  quotiens  certam  me  sum  mentitus  habere 
horam,  propositae  quae  foret  apta  viae. 
55      ter  limen  tetigi,.ter  sum  revocatus,  et  ipse 
indulgens  animo  pes  mihi  tardus  erat. 
saepe  '  vale '  dicto  rursus  sum  plura  locutus, 

et  quasi  discedens  oscula  multa  dedi. 
saepe  eadem  mandata  dedi  meque  ipse  fefelli, 
60  respiciens  oculis  pignora  cara  meis. 

43.  adstrata  G  attracta  HP  attacta  V  intracta  A  prostrata  w. 


focos :  a  sign 


42.    sonos  =  verba 

6,i,  extinctos  . 
of  mourning  over  the  desperate 
condition  of  the  family ;  cf.  Tib. 
I,  I,  6,  n. 

45.    adversos:  '  before  her.' 

48.  Arctos  =  CalUsto:  cf.  Cat. 
66,  66,  n.  The  revolution  of  the 
Great  Bear  is  a  nightly  phe- 
nomenon. 

51.  urges  :  sc  tne. 

52.  quo  :  i.e.  Tomi.  —  festinas  : 
the  subjunctive  is  more  usual  in 
this  form  of  question ;    but  vide 


may  best  be  considered  paratactic. 
—  unde:  i.e.  Rome:  cf.  vv.  61-62. 
53.  Cf.  Tib.  I,  3,  16  sqq.— 
certam :  probably  one  supposed  to 
be  especially  propitious,  from  as- 
trology or  other  divination. 

55.  ter:  cf.  Tib.  i,  3,  11. 

56.  pes  .  .  .  tardus :  cf.  Tib.  I, 
3,  20. 

59.  meque  ipse  fefelli :  '  lost 
my  self-control.'' 

60.  pignora  here  seems  to  in- 
clude other  friends  besides  his 
immediate  family. 


413 


3,  6i]  P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 

denique  '  quid  propero  ?     Scythia  est,  quo  mittimur; 
inquam :  } 

'  Roma  relinquenda  est.     utraque  iusta  morast. 
uxor  in  aeternum  vivo  mihi  viva  negatur, 
et  domus  et  fidae  dulcia  membra  domus, 
65      quosque  ego  dilexi  fraterno  more  sodales, 
o  mihi  Thesea  pectora  iuncta  fide ! 
dum  licet,  amplectar  —  numquam  fortasse  licebit 

amplius :  in  lucro  est,  quae  datur  hora  mihi.' 
nee  mora,  sermonis  verba  inperfecta  relinquo, 
70  conplectens  animo  proxima  quaeque  meo. 

dum  loquor  et  flemus,  caelo  nitidissimus  alto, 

Stella  gravis  nobis,  Lucifer  ortus  erat. 
dividor  baud  aliter,  quam  si  mea  membra  relinquam, 
et  pars  abrumpi  corpore  visa  suost. 
75      sic  doluit  Mettus  tunc,  cum  in  contraria  versos 
ultores  habuit  proditionis  equos. 
tunc  vero  exoritur  clamor  gemitusque  meorum, 

et  feriunt  maestae  pectora  nuda  manus. 
tunc  vero  coniunx,  umeris  abeuntis  inhaerens, 
80  miscuit  haec  lacrimis  tristia  verba  suis  : 

'  non  potes  avelli :  simul  hinc,  simul  ibimus  '  inquit : 

'  te  sequar  et  coniunx  exulis  exul  ero. 
et  mihi  facta  via  est :  et  me  capit  ultima  terra : 
accedam  profugae  sarcina  parva  rati. 
85      te  iubet  a  patria  discedere  Caesaris  ira, 

me  pietas  :  pietas  haec  mihi  Caesar  erit.' 
talia  temptabat,  sicut  temptaverat  ante, 

62.   mora:  ' cause  for  delay.'  75.    Mettus:    Mettius  Fufetius, 

66.    Thesea  .  .  .  fide :  the  pro-      who,    for    treachery    against    his 

verbial    friendship   between   The-      Roman  allies,  was  condemned  to 

seus  and  Pirithous.  be  torn  asunder  by  two  quadrigae 

68.    in  lucro  :  'clear  gain.'  driven  in  opposite  directions. 

414 


TRISTIVM    LIBER   IV  [lo,  2 

vixque  dedit  victas  utilitate  manus.    ^ 
egredior  —  sive  illud  erat  sine  f unere  ferri  — 
90  squalidus,  inmissis  hirta  per  ora  comis. 

ilia  dolore  aniens  tenebris  narratur  obortis 

semianimis  media  procubuisse  domo  : 
utque  resurrexit  foedatis  pulvere  turpi 

crinibus  et  gelida  membra  levavit  humo, 
95      se  modo,  desertos  modo  conplorasse  Penates, 

nomen  et  erepti  saepe  vocasse  viri, 
nee  gemuisse  minus,  quam  si  nataeque  meumque 

vidisset  structos  corpus  habere  rogos, 
et  voluisse  mori,  moriendo  ponere  sensus, 
100        respectuque  tamen  non  voluisse  mei. 

vivat !  et  absentem  —  quoniam  sic  fata  tulerunt  — 

vivat  ut  auxilio  sublevet  usque  sue. 

LIBER    QVARTVS 

10 

Ille  ego  qui  fuerim,  tenerorum  lusor  amorum, 
quern  legis,  ut  noris,  accipe  posteritas. 

97.  meumque  A  virique  GHV. 

88.  dedit  .  .  .  manus:  'gave  wife  of  P.  Suillius  Rufus,  a  man  of 
in ' ;  a  gladiatorial  expression  ;  cf.  good  rank  and  various  honors,  who 
Cic.  De  Am.  99  :  ad  extremum  det  subsequently  himself  suffered  ban- 
manus  vincique  se  patiatitr.  ishment. 

89.  sine  funere  ferri:  'my  fu-  99.  ponere  sensus  : /.^.  to  drown 
neral  without  my  corpse,''  and  of  her  sorrows. 

course  largely,  if  not  entirely,  lack-  loi.   tulerunt :  '  have  decreed.' 

ing  in  mourners.  102.    Cf.  4,  10,  73,  n. 

90.  '  In    mourning    garments, 

with  unkempt  hair  and  unshaven  4,  10 
face ' ;  all  signs  of  mourning. 

97.    nataeque  :   her  daughter  by  Autobiography  of  Ovid.     The 

a  former  marriage  (cf.  4,  10,  ^t^,  n.)  ;  custom  of  the  Augustan  poets  was 

415 


lo,  3  J 


P.   OVIDI   NASONIS 


Sulmo  mihi  patria  est,  gelidis  uberrimus  undis, 
milia  qui  novies  distat  ab  urbe  decern. 
S        editus  hinc  ego  sum  ;  nee  non  ut  tempora  noris, 
cum  cecidit  fato  consul  uterque  pari, 
siquid  id  est,  usque  a  proavis  vetus  ordinis  heres, 

non  modo  fortunae  munere  factus  eques. 
nee  stirps  prima  fui.     genito  sum  fratre  creatus, 
lo  qui  tribus  ante  quater  mensibus  ortus  erat. 

Lucifer  amborum  natalibus  adfuit  idem  : 

una  celebrata  est  per  duo  liba  dies, 
haec  est  armiferae  festis  de  quinque  Minervae, 
quae  fieri  pugna  prima  cruenta  solet. 
15      protinus  excolimur  teneri,  curaque  parentis 

imus  ad  insignes  urbis  ab  arte  viros.    v^  vx^  ^h  v^  Ws> 

10.    7.    siquid   id  vtilg.   si   quis   et  Postgate.       8.    modo  vulg.  sum  Rie::. 


to  put  such  poems  at  the  close  of 
some  work  (cf.  Am.  3,  15,  Intr.). 
Here  Ovid  at  the  end  of  Bk.  4  of 
his  Tristia  gives  the  most  complete 
account  of  his  life,  though  it  is 
supplemented  by  many  other  pas- 
sages in  other  Tristia  and  other 
groups  of  poems.  Written  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  1 1  a.d.  at 
Tomi. 

I.  Ille  ego:  'the  well-known 
writer  that  I  am.'  —  qui(=  qualis) 
fuerim  :  indirect  question. — tene- 
rorum  .  .  .  amorum :  probably  in- 
tended to  include  the  Heroides  as 
well  as  the  three  books  of  the 
Amores.  —  lusor:  cf.  Cat.  68,  17. 

3.  Sulmo :  cf.  Am.  2,  16,  i.  n. 
—  gelidis  .  .  .  undis:  cf.  3,  15,  11. 

6.  Cf.  Tib.  3,  5,  18,  n. 

7.  Cf.   Am.   3,   15,   5.      For  a 


description  of  the  opposite  type 
of  equestrian  nobility,  referred  to 
in  verse  8,  cf.  Hor.  Epod.  4. 

10.  Ovid's  older  brother,  Lu- 
cius, was  exactly  a  year  older 
than  he.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty  (cf.  v.  31). 

12.  liba:  for  the  offerings  on 
birthdays  cf.  Tib.  2,  2,  7-8. 

13.  festis  de  quinque  :  sc  diebus. 
The  festival  of  Quinquatrus  or 
Quinquatria  was  sacred  to  Minerva, 
and  was  originally  celebrated  on 
the  fifth  day  after  the  Ides  of  March. 
After  168  B.C.,  however,  the 
original  significance  of  the  name 
being  forgotten,  the  festival  was 
extended  to  include  five  days. 
Ovid  was  born  on  the  second  01 
these,  March  20. 

16.    Cf.  Intr.  §  38. 

16 


TRISTIVM    LIBER   IV 


[lo,  34 


frater  ad  eloquium  viridi  tendebat  ab  aevo, 

fortia  verbosi  natus  ad  arma  fori, 
at  mihi  iam  puero  caelestia  sacra  placebant, 
20  inque  suum  furtim  Musa  trahebat  opus. 

saepe  pater  dixit  'studium  quid  inutile  temptas? 

Maeonides  nullas  ipse  reliquit  opes.' 
motus  eram  dictis  totoque  Helicone  relicto 
scribere  conabar  verba  soluta  modis  : 
25      sponte  sua  carmen  numeros  veniebat  ad  aptos ; 
et  quod  temptabam  dicere,  versus  erat. 
interea  tacito  passu  labentibus  annis 

liberior  fratri  sumpta  mihique  togast ; 
induiturque  umeris  cum  lato  purpura  clavo : 
30  et  studium  nobis,  quod  fuit  ante,  manet. 

iamque  decem  frater  vitae  geminaverat  annos, 

cum  perit,  et  coepi  parte  carere  mei. 
cepimus  et  tenerae  primos  aetatis  honores, 
eque  viris  quondam  pars  tribus  una  fui. 

34.    eque  vulg.  deque  A. 


17.  eloquium  =  eloqiientia,  a 
variation  common  after  this  time. 

18.  Cf.  Prop.  4,  I,  134. 

ig.  caelestia  sacra :  i.e.  the 
poetic  art. 

21.  studium  .  .  .  inutile :  poetry 
was  not  "  practical,"  as  the  saying 
goes  to-day  of  similar  pursuits. 

22.  Maeonides :  cf.  Am.  3,  6, 
25,  n. 

23.  Helicone :  the  Boeotian 
mountain  recognized  as  the  abode 
of  the  Muses. 

24.  verba  soluta  modis  : 'prose.' 
27.    labentibus  annis :  the  date 

for    the   assumption    of  the    toga 
virilis   was    not    definitely   fixed, 


but  usually  came  on  the  Liberalia 
(March  17),  and  not  often  later 
than  the  boy's  seventeenth  year. 

28.  liberior :  since  it  indicated 
a  greater  degree  of  freedom  for 
the  young  man. 

29.  lato  .  .  .  clavo :  instead  of 
the  usual  tunica  august  iclavia 
of  the  knight.  Sons  of  senators 
and  of  noble  knights  often  in 
the  Augustan  epoch  assumed  the 
tunica  laticlavia  as  a  token  that 
they  were  planning  a  higher  of- 
ficial career. 

32.   Cf.  Cat.  68,  22. 
34.   viris  .  .  .  tribus :  either  the 
tresviri  capitales,   who   punished 


ROM.    EL.    POETS — 27         4^7 


lo,  35]  p.    OVIDI   NASONIS 

35      curia  restabat :  clavi  mensura  coactast : 
maius  erat  nostris  viribus  illud  onus, 
nee  patiens  corpus,  nee  mens  fuit  apta  labori, 

sollicitaeque  fugax  ambitionis  eram, 
et  petere  Aoniae  suadebant  tuta  sorores 
40  otia,  iudicio  semper  amata  meo. 

temporis  illius  colui  fovique  poetas, 

quotque  aderant  vates,  rebar  adesse  decs, 
saepe  suas  volueres  legit  mihi  grandior  aevo, 

quaeque  noeet  serpens,  quae  iuvat  herba,  Macer. 
45      saepe  suos  solitus  recitare  Propertius  ignes, 
iure  sodalicii  quo  mihi  iunetus  erat. 
Ponticus  heroo,  Bassus  quoque  clarus  iambis 

dulcia  convietus  membra  fuere  mei ; 
et  tenuit  nostras  numerosus  Horatius  aures, 
50  dum  ferit  Ausonia  carmina  eulta  lyra. 

Vergilium  vidi  tantum  ;  nee  amara  Tibullo 
tempus  amicitiae  fata  dedere  meae. 

44.    iuvat  vulg.  iuvet  AH.       46.    quo  vulg.  qui  A.       51.    amara  w  avara 

vulg. 

slaves  and  criminals  of  low  rank;  the  senatorial  dress  (cf.  v.  29,  n.). 

or  the //wwW /w;/<;'A;/fj,  who  had  39.    Aoniae:       Boeotian;      cf. 

charge  of  the  coinage.     Ovid  was  v.  23,  n. 

also  a  member  of  the  decemviri  43.    volueres:  W\&  Ornithogania 

stlitibus    iudicandis,    and    of    the  of  Aemilius  Macer. 

centumviral  court ;  but  he  never  44.    Other  works  of  Macer  were 

really     entered     on     the    regular  the  Theriaca  (on  poisonous  crea- 

senatorial  offices,  which  properly  tures)  and  a  poem  De  Herbis. 

began  with  the  quaestorship.  47-   Ponticus     heroo :    for    the 

35.   curia  :  the  senate  house,  to  epic  Thebais  of  Ponticus,  cf.  Prop, 

which    he    would    have    naturally  i,  7. —  Bassus  :...  iambis  :  prob- 

looked  forward,  had  he  chosen  to  ably    the    Bassus    referred   to    in 

follow    the    senatorial    career. —  Prop,  i,  4. 

clavi    mensura   coactast:    i.e.    he  49.    numerosus:  'tuneful.' 

was    obliged,    on    giving   up    the  51-    vidi  tantum:  Vergil   lived 

senatorial  career,  to  relinquish  also  at  Naples,  the  latter  part  of  his  life. 

418 


TRISTIVM    LIBER   IV  [lo,  68 

successor  fuit  hie  tibi,  Gallc  :  Propertius  illi : 
quartus  ab  his  serie  temporis  ipse  fui. 
55      utque  ego  maiores,  sic  me  coluere  minores, 
notaque  non  tarde  facta  Thalia  meast. 
carmina  cum  primum  populo  iuvenalia  legi, 

barba  resecta  mihi  bisve  semelve  fuit. 
moverat  ingenium  totam  cantata  per  urbem 
60  nomine  non  vero  dicta  Corinna  mihi. 

multa  quidem  scripsi :  sed  quae  vitiosa  putavi, 
1^-'        emendaturis  ignibus  ipse  dedi. 
^  tunc   quoque,   cum   fugerem,    quaedam    placitura 

cremavi, 
iratus  studio  carminibusque  meis. 
65      molle  Cupidineis  nee  inexpugnabile  telis 

cor  mihi,  quodque  levis  causa  moveret,  erat. 
cum  tamen  hie  essem  minimoque  accenderer  igni, 
nomine  sub  nostro  fabula  nulla  fuit. 


53.   Galle:  cf  Intr.  §  12.  Koprj.     There  was  also  a  Boeotian 

56.  Thalia  :  'Muse,'  in  general ;  poetess  of  the  same  name. 

here  for  the  product  of  the  Muse.  63.    fugerem:     of    going     into 

57.  The  custom  of  holding  banishment;  cf.  Tac.  Afi/i.  3, 
readings  {recitationes)  of  one's  24.  —  placitura :  "  which  would 
own  works  before  publication,  in  probably  have  proved  popular.'  — 
the  presence  of  a  select  company  cremavi:  cf.  Intr.  §  39;  Trist.  i, 
of  invited  guests,  was  introduced  7,  15  sqq. 

by  Asinius  Pollio.  64.   iratus :  '  grieving  for.' 

58.  The  first  cutting  of  the  68.  fabula:  'gossip.'  Ovid's 
youthful  beard  was  a  festal  occa-  life,  he  maintains  steadfastly,  was 
sion;  and  the  cuttings  were  pure,  in  spite  of  the  impurity  of 
offered  to  divinities  (the  depositio  some  of  his  writings.  Cf.  Trist.  2, 
barbae).  353~354  •  crede  i>!ihi,  distant  mores 

60.    nomine  non  vero:  her  real  a  carmine  nostro:  vita  vereainda 

name  is  not  known,  if  indeed  there  est,  musa  iocosa  mea.     Other  Ro- 

was  any  real  person  involved.    The  man  writers,  e.g.  Catullus,  Martial, 

name  may  have  been  easily  derived  and  even  Pliny  the  younger,  argued 

from    the    Greek    name    for   girl,  similarly. 

419 


lo,  69]  p.    OVIDI   NASONIS 

paene  mihi  puero  nee  digna  nee  utilis  uxor 
70  est  data,  quae  tempus  per  breve  nupta  fuit. 

illi  successit  quamvis  sine  crimine  coniunx, 

non  tamen  in  nostro  firma  futura  toro. 
ultima,  quae  mecum  seros  permansit  in  annos, 
sustinuit  coniunx  exulis  esse  viri. 
75      filia  me  mea  bis  prima  fecunda  iuventa, 
sed  non  ex  uno  coniuge,  fecit  avum. 
at  iam  conplerat  genitor  sua  fata  novemque 

addiderat  lustris  altera  lustra  novem  ; 
non  aliter  flevi,  quam  me  fleturus  ademptum 
80  ille  fuit.     matri  proxima  iusta  tuli. 

felices  ambo  tempestiveque  sepulti, 

ante  diem  poenae  quod  periere  meae ! 
me  quoque  felicem,  quod  non  viventibus  illis 
sum  miser,  et  de  me  quod  doluere  nihil ! 
85      si  tamen  extinctis  aliquid  nisi  nomina  restat, 
et  gracilis  structos  effugit  umbra  rogos : 

85.    restat  vtilg.  restant  AV. 

69.  paene  mihi  puero  :  '  when  I  Rome,  in  the  hope  that  she  might 

was  hardly  more  than  a  lioy.'      A  exert  influence  to  secure  his  recall. 
Roman  boy  might  marry  as  early  75.    filia  .   .   .  mea :  by  his  tirst 

as  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  a  girl  or  his  second  wife.     The  daughter 

at  twelve  ;    but  a  greater  age  was  was  herself  twice  married, 
more  usual.  —  uxor  :  one  of  Ovid's  77.   conplerat    .    ,    .  sua  fata: 

first  two  wives  came  from  Falerii,  cf.  Horn.  //.   4,  170:  at  Ke  ^avj^s 

as  we  learn  from  Am.   3,    13.   i.  koi. -n-oTfj-ov  avaTrXy(Tr]<:  ^lotoio 
Both  were  divorced  from  him.  78.   Ovid's   father  died   at   the 

73.    Ovid's    third    wife    proved  age  of  ninety, 
faithful  and  devoted  through  the  80.    iusta  tuli:     'paid  the  last 

long  years  of  his  banishment,  and  honors,'    like    tusia    solvere    and 

survived   him.     She   belonged   to  htsta  dare. 
the  noble  family  of  the  Fabii.  and  82.    poenae  :  i.e.  his  relegatio. 

was  a  widow  with  one  daughter  85.    Cf.  Am.  3,  9,  59,  n. 

when   married  to  the   poet.      He  86.   gracilis:      '  substanceless ' ; 

preferred  to  have   her  remain  in  cf.  Tib.  3,  2,  9. 

420 


TRISTIVM   LIBER   IV  [lo,  lO? 

fama,  parentales,  si  vos  mea  contigit,  umbrae, 

et  sunt  in  Stygio  crimina  nostra  foro : 
scite,  precor,  causam  —  nee  vos  mihi  fallere  fas  est  — 
90  errorem  iussae,  non  scelus,  esse  fugae. 

manibus  hoc  satis  est.     ad  vos,  studiosa,  reverter, 

pectora,  qui  vitae  quaeritis  acta  meae. 
iam  mihi  canities  pulsis  mehoribus  annis 

venerat,  antiquas  miscueratque  comas, 
95      postque  meos  ortus  Pisaea  vinctus  oliva 

abstulerat  decies  praemia  victor  equus, 
cum  maris  Euxini  positos  ad  laeva  Tomitas 

quaerere  me  laesi  principis  ira  iubet. 
causa  meae  cunctis  nimium  quoque  nota  ruinae 
100        indicio  non  est  testificanda  meo. 

quid  referam  comitumque  nefas  famulosque  nocentes  ? 

ipsa  multa  tuli  non  leviora  fuga. 

96.    equus  Bentley  eques  Mss.  equis  Strachan. 

88.    Cf.  Prop.  4,  II,  19.  fifth    year.     The    lustrum   was   a 

90.  Cf.  Intr.  §38;  Trist.  i,  common  five-year  period  in  reck- 
3,  37-38  :  qiiis  me  deceperit  error,  oning,  which  fostered  the  con- 
dicite,  pro  culpa  ue  scelus  esse  fusion.  Cf.  Alet.  14,  324-325  : 
putet.  per    annos    quinquennein ;     Tac. 

91.  studiosa  ...  pectora  :*  eager  ^hi/i.  14.  20:  qui)ique)ntale  cer- 
souls.'  tameti.     Ovid  was  past  fifty  when 

94.  antiquas:      'of    old    age.'      banished. 

—  miscueratque  :  sc.  some  word  for  97.  positos  ad  laeva  Tomitas: 
'with  that  of  youth.'  For  the  Tomi  was  on  the  left  side  of  the 
position  of  the  enclitic,  cf.  Tib.  2.  Euxine  as  one  passed  through  the 
5,  72,  n.  Bosporus. 

95.  Pisaea:  the  Olympic  games  99.  nimium  quoque :  'only  too 
were  celebrated  near  Pisa  in  Elis.  well.' 

—  vinctus  oliva :  the  victors  were  100.  Ovid  consistently  pre- 
crowned  with  wreaths  of  olive.             serves  this  judicious  silence. 

96     The  Olympic  games  were  loi.    Cf.   Trist.   i,  5,  63  sqq. ; 

held  every   four   years,   i.e.    after      Hor.  Car.  i.  35,  25. 
four  years ;  so  Ovid  calls  it  every  102.   fuga  :  cf.  v.  63. 

421 


lo,  103]  p.    OVIDI    NASONIS 

indignata  malis  mens  est  succumbere  seque 

praestitit  invictam  viribus  usa  suis.  -, 
105    oblitusque  mei  ductaeque  per  otia  vitae 

insolita  cepi  temporis  arma  manu         -^^li^i^t  -^v^^:^-'"-^ 
totque  tuli  casus  peiagoque  terraque,  quot  inter 

occultum  stellae  conspicuumque  polum. 
tacta  mihi  tandem  longis  erroribus  acto 
no         iuncta  pharetratis  Sarmatis  ora  Getis. 

hie  ego  finitimis  quamvis  circumsoner  armis, 

tristia,  quo  possum,  carmine  fata  levo. 
quod  quamvis  nemo  est  cuius  referatur  ad  aures, 

sic  tamen  absumo  decipioque  diem. 
115    ergo  quod  vivo  durisque  laboribus  obsto, 

nee  me  soUicitae  taedia  lucis  habent, 
gratia,  Musa,  tibi!     nam  tu  solacia  praebes, 

tu  curae  requies,  tu  medicina  venis. 
tu  dux  et  comes  es,  tu  nos  abducis  ab  Histro 
120        in  medioque  mihi  das  Helicone  locum. 

tu  mihi,  quod  rarum  est,  vivo  sublime  dedisti 

nomen,  ab  exequiis  quod  dare  fama  solet. 

106.  temporis  arma :  i.e.  pa-  et  tneridionalem,  qui  semper  sub 
tience  and  hope.  hortzontem  est. 

107.  Both  sorts  of  experiences  no.  The  Sarmatae  and  Getae, 
are  detailed  for  the  reader  here  who  dwelt  near  the  Danube,  used 
and  there  in  the  Tristia;  cf.  i,  I,  the  bow  and  arrow  as  their  special 
42  sqq. ;   I,  2,  etc.  weapons  in  war. 

108.  occultum  .  .  .  conspicu-  112.  For  Ovid's  achievements 
umque :  the  north  polar  star  and      at  Tomi  cf  Intr.  §  39. 

its  neighbors  are  visible  to  those  n3.   referatur    ad    aures:      no 

dwelling    in   the    northern   hemi-  recitationes  of  Latin  poetry  were 

sphere,  while  those  stars  near  the  in  vogue  at  Tomi.  and  Ovid  could 

south  pole  are  invisible;   cf.   Hy-  only  guess  what  reception  his  com- 

ginus,  the  astronomer,  i,  6:  quod  plaints  had  in  Rome. 
stellae     inter     polum     septentri-  122.   ab  exequiis :    '  only   after 

onalem,   qui  conspiciius  ftobis  est  death';  cf.  Prop.  3,  i,  24. 

422 


TRISTIVM    LIBER   IV 


[lo,  132 


nec  qui  detrectat  praesentia,  Livor,  iniquo 

ulliim  de  nostris  dente  momordit  opus. 
125    nam  tulerint  magnos  cum  saecula  nostra  poetas, 

non  fuit  ingenio  fama  maligna  meo, 
cumque  ego  praeponam  mihi  multos,  non  minor  illis 

dicor  et  in  toto  plurimus  orbe  legor. 
siquid  habent  igitur  vatum  praesagia  veri, 
130        protinus  ut  moriar,  non  ero,  terra,  tuus. 

sive  favore  tuli,  sive  banc  ego  carmine  famam, 

iure  tibi  grates,  candide  lector,  ago. 


125.    cum:  concessive. 

128.  plurimus:  used  adverbi- 
ally. 

130.  ut :  concessive.  With  the 
thought  of  the  verse  cf.  Hor.  Car. 
3,  30,  6  sq. :   non  omnis  moriar, 


niultaqiie  pars  mei  vitabit   Libi- 
iijiai/i. 

131.  carmine:  i.e.  meritorious 
poetic  achievement  as  contrasted 
with  mere  /aTore. 

132.  iure:  i.e.  I  owe  them. 


42.3 


J-, 


INDEX    OF    FIRST    LINES 


Arma  deus  Caesar  dites  meditatur  ad  Indos  .     .      .  Prop.  3,  4    . 

Arma  gravi  numero  violentaque  hella  parabam .      .  Ovid,  Am.  i 

At  vos  incerlam,  mortales,  funeris  horam  ....  Prop.  2,  27 

Callimachi  manes  et  Coi  sacra  Philetae     ....  Prop.  3,  i 

Carminis  interea  nostri  redeamus  in  orbem    .      .      .  Prop.  3,  2 

Castra  Macer  sequitur :   tenero  quid  fiet  Amori  .      .  Tib.  2,  6 

Chommoda  dicebat,  si  quando  commoda  vellet  .     .  Cat.  84  . 

Clausus  ab  umbroso  qua  ludit  pontus  Averno      .      .  Prop.  3,  18 

Cum  subit  illius  tristissima  noctis  imago    ....  Ovid,  Trist. 

Cynthia  prima  suis  miserum  me  cepit  ocellis       .      .  Prop,  i,  i 

Desine  de  quoquam  quicquam  bene  velle  mereri    .  Cat.  73    . 

Desine,  Paulle,  meum  lacrimis  urgere  sepulcrum    .  Prop.  4,  1 1 

Dicamus  bona  verba:  venit  Natalis  ad  aras  .      .      .  Till.  2,  2. 

Dicel)am  tibi  venturos,  inrisor,  amores      ....  Prop,  i,  9 

Dicebas  quondam  solum  te  nosse  Catullum   .      .     .  Cat.  72    . 

Divitias  alius  fulvo  sibi  congerat  auro Tib.  i,  i 

Dum  tibi  Cadmeae  dicuntur,  Pontice,  Thebae    .      .  Prop,  i,  7 

Ergo  sollicitae  tu  causa,  pecunia,  vitae     ....  Prop.  3,  7 

Estne  tibi,  Cerinthe,  tuae  pia  cura  puellae     .      .      .  Tib.  4,  1 1 

Et  merit (),  quoniam  potui  fugisse  puellam     .      .      .  Prop.  I,  17 

Etsi  me  adsiduo  confectum  cura  dolore    ....  Cat.  65    . 

Falsa  est  ista  tuae,  mulier,  fiducia  forinae       .      .      .  Prop.  3,  24 

Haec  Arethusa  suo  mittit  mandata  Lycotae  .      .      .  Prop.  4,  3 

Haec  certe  deserta  loca  et  taciturna  querenti     .      .  Prop.  I,  18 

Hie  erit,  hie  iurata  manet.     rumpantur  iniqui     .      .  Prop.  I,  8b 

Hoc,quodcumquevides,hospes,  qua  maxima  Romast  Prop.  4,  i 

Hunc  cecinere  diem  Parcae  fatalia  nentes     .      .      .  Tib.  i,  7 

Hue  ades  et  tenerae  morbos  expelle  puellae       .      .  Tib.  4,  4 

Hue  est  mens  deducta  tua,  mea  Lesbia,  culpa   .      .  Cat.  75    . 

Ibitis  Aegaeas  sine  me,  Messalla,  per  undas       .      .  Tib.  i,  3 

llle  ego  qui  fuerim,  tenerorum  lusor  amorum     .      .  Ovid,  Trist. 

Invisus  natalis  adest,  qui  rure  molesto      ....  Tib.  4,  8 

lucundum,  mea  vita,  mihi  proponis  amorem       .      .  Cat.  109  . 

luppiter,  adfectae  tandem  miserere  puellae   .      .      .  Prop.  2,  28 

lusta  precor.     quae  me  nuper  praedata  puellast     .  Ovid,  Am.  I 

Lesbia  mi  dicit  semper  male  nee  tacet  umquam      .  Cat.  92    . 


,  I 


10 


PAGE 
2S2 

375 
259 
270 

274 

177 
105 

3'4 
410 
201 
100 

2>^i 
163 
219 

99 
121 
211 
290 
196 
227 

69 
322 

339 
231 
217 
326 
140 
192 

lOI 

130 

415 
'95 
117 

261 

377 
108 


INDEX   OF   FIRST   LINES 


Lesbia  mi  praesente  viro  mala  plurima  dicit 
Maecenas  eques  Etrusco  de  sanguine  regum 
Magnum  iter  ad  doctas  proficisci  cogor  Athenas     . 
Memnona  si  mater,  mater  ploravit  Achillem 
Mittit  et  optat  amans,  quo  mittitur,  ire  salutem    . 
Multas  per  gentes  et  multa  per  aequora  vectus  . 
Natalis  luno,  sanctos  cape  turis  acervos    .... 
Nil  nimium  studeo,  Caesar,  tibi  velle  placere 
Non  ego  nunc  Hadriae  vereor  mare  noscere  tecum 
Non  ego  nunc  tristes  vereor,  mea  Cynthia,  manes 
Non  tot  Achaemeniis  armantur  Susa  sagittis 
Nox  media,  et  dominae  mihi  venit  epistula  nostrae 
Nulla  potest  mulier  tantum  se  dicere  amatam    . 
Nulla  tuum  nobis  subducet  femina  lectum     .      .     . 
NuUi  se  dicit  mulier  mea  nubere  malle     .... 
Odi  et  amo.     quare  id  faciam,  fortasse  requiris . 
Omnia  qui  magni  dispexit  lumina  mundi  .... 
Pacis  Amor  dcus  est,  pacem  veneramur  amantes    . 
Pars  me  Sulmo  tenet  Paeligni  tertia  ruris 
Phoebe,  fave  :  novus  ingreditur  tua  templa  sacerdos 
Prima  malas  docuit,  mirantibus  aequoris  undis  .     . 

Psittacus,  eois  imitatrix  ales  ab  Indis 

Quaere  novum  vatem,  tenerorum  mater  Amorum  . 
Quaeris,  cur  veniam  tibi  tardior.     aurea  Phoebi 
Qualis  et  unde  genus,  qui  sint  mihi,  Tulle,  penates 
Qui  modo  Nasonis  fueramus  quinque  libelli 
Qui  primus  caram  iuveni  carumque  puellae  . 
Quicumque  ille  fuit  puerum  qui  pinxit  Amorem 
Quid  iuvat  ornato  procedere,  vita,  capillo 
Quid  mihi  desidiae  non  cessas  fmgcre  crimen    . 
Quid  mihi,  Livor  edax,  ignavos  obicis  annos  . 
Quid  mirare,  meam  si  versat  femina  vitam     . 
Quid  prodest  caelum  votis  inplesse,  Neaera  . 
Quinti,  si  tibi  vis  oculos  debere  Catullum 
Quintia  Formosa  est  multis,  mihi  Candida,  longa 
Quis  fuit,  horrendos  primus  qui  protulit  enses    . 
Quisquis  adest,  faveat :   fruges  lustramus  et  agros    . 
Quod  mihi  fortuna  casuque  oppressus  acerbo 
Risus  eram  positis  inter  convivia  mensis  .... 
Sacra  facit  vates :   sint  ora  faventia  sacris 
Saepe  tibi  studioso  animo  venante  requirens 
Scis  iter  ex  animo  sublatum  triste  puellae 
Scribant  de  te  alii  vel  sis  ignota,  licebit    .... 
Sed  tempus  lustrare  aliis  Helicona  choreis    .     . 

426 


Cat.  83  .  .   . 

105 

Prop.  3,  9  .  . 

297 

Prop.  3,  21  .  . 

318 

Ovid,  Am.   3,  9 

395 

Ovid,  Her.   13  . 

402 

Cat.  loi   .  . 

"3 

Tib.  4,  6   .  . 

194 

Cat.  93  •  •  . 

109 

Prop.  1,6.  . 

207 

Prop.  I,  19  . 

23s 

Prop.  2,  13  .  . 

246 

Prop.  3,  16 

312 

Cat.  87  .   .  . 

108 

Tib.  4,  13  .  . 

197 

Cat.  70  ...  . 

99 

Cat.  85  .  .  . 

107 

Cat.  66  .  .  . 

72 

Prop.  3,  5  ■  • 

285 

Ovid,  Am.   2,  16 

390 

Tib.  2,  5 

165 

Ovid,  Am.   2,  II 

387 

Ovid,  Am.   2,  6 

383 

Ovid,  Am.  3,  15 

,  400 

Prop.  2,  31  .  . 

267 

Prop.  I,  22  .  . 

237 

Ovid,  Am.  Ep.  Ips 

375 

Tib.  3,  2   .  . 

182 

Prop.  2,  12  .  . 

243 

Prop.  1, 2  .  . 

204 

Prop.  I,  12  .   . 

.  223 

Ovid,  Am.   I,  15 

379 

Prop.  3,  II  .  . 

303 

Tib.  T„i       .      . 

185 

Cat.  82  .  .  . 

.  104 

Cat.  86  .  .  . 

.  107 

Tib.  I,  10  .  . 

147 

Tib.  2,  I 

•  154 

Cat.  68  .  .  . 

■   83 

Prop.  3,  25  .  . 

324 

Prop.  4,  6  . 

355 

Cat.  116.  .  . 

.  118 

Tib.  4,  9.  .  . 

.  196 

Prop.  2,  II  .  . 

.  242 

Prop.  2,  10  .  . 

•  239 

INDEX   OF   FIRST   LINES 


Si,  Comini,  populi  arbitrio  tua  cana  senectus 
Si  quicquam  mutis  gratum  acceptumve  sepulcris 
Si  quicquam  tacito  commissum  est  fulu  ab  amico 
Si  quoi  quid  cupido  optantique  obtigit  umquam 
Siqua  recordanti  benefacta  priora  voluplas    . 
Siquis  erit,  qui  lurpe  putet  servire  puellae 
Sulpicia  est  tibi  culta  tuis,  Mars  magne,  kalendi 
Surripui  tibi,  dum  ludis,  mellite  luventi    . 
Tarpeium  nemus  et  Tarpeiae  turpe  sepulcrum 
Tu  licet  abiectus  Tiberina  molliter  unda  . 
Tune  igitur  demens,  nee  te  mea  cura  muratur 
Vidi  te  in  somnis  fracta,  mea  vita,  carina 
Visus  eram  molli  recubans  Heliconis  in  umbra 
Vos  tenet  Etruscis  manat  quae  fontibus  unda 
Zmyrna  mei  Cinnae  nonam  post  denique  messem  . 


PAGE 

Cat.  1 08   .  . 

116 

Cat.  96  .  .  . 

III 

Cat.  102   .   . 

••5 

Cat.  107  .  .  . 

"5 

Cat.  76  .   .  . 

102 

Ovid,  Am.  2,  17 

393 

Tib.  4,  2   .  . 

190 

Cat.  99  .   .  . 

112 

Prop.  4,  4  .  . 

347 

Prop.  I,  14  . 

224 

Prop.  I,  8  .   . 

214 

Prop.  2,  26  .   . 

253 

Prop.  2,,^     .      . 

276 

Tib.  3,  5   .  . 

187 

Cat.  95  .  .  . 

109 

427 


GENERAL    INDEX 


ab  insidiis,  adverbial,  Prop.  3,  25,  6 
ablative,  causal,  with  in,  Prop.  3,  2,  2 
ablatives,  vague,  Prop.  3,  i,  34;  3.  18,  9; 

4,  II,  96 
abstract  nouns,  plural,  Tib.  i,  i,  4 
Acastus,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  25 
Accius,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  19 
accusative,  cognate,  Prop,  i,  7,   16;    3, 

II,  47 
of  purpose  in  Propertius,  Prop,  i,  7.  6 
Achaemenes,  Prop.  2,  13,  i 
Achaia,  Prop.  2,  28,  53 
Achilles,  Prop.  2,  13,  38;  3,  i,  26;  Ovid, 

ylw.   3,  9.  I 
Acroceraunia,  Prop,  i,  8,  19;  Ovid,  Am. 

2,  II,  19 
acroterium.  Prop.  2,  31,  11 
Actium,  Prop.  4,  6,  15 

battle  of,  Prop.  3,  11,  29  and  67  sqq. ; 

4,  I,  3 ;   4,  6,  Intr.  and  48 
ad  =  apud,  Cat.  68,  69 
adiuro  with  accusative.  Cat.  66,  40 
adjectives  in  active  sense,  Tib.  i,  3,  16; 

2,  I,  44  and  46 
Adonis,  Prop.  2,  13,  53 
Adriatic,  Prop.  3,  21,  17 
adverbs,  substitutes  for.  Prop.  4,  i,  120 
used  adjectivally,  Tib.  i,  3,  50;   Prop. 

I,  I,  2;   I,  22,  2 
\eacus.  Prop.  4,  11,  19 
\egean.  Prop.  3,  7.  57!  3,  24,  12 
\emilia,  a  vestalis  maxima,  Prop.  4,  1 1 ,  53 
Aemilius  Paulus,  victor  at  Pydna,  Prop. 

3,3,8 
Aeneas,  Tib.  2,  s,  19  and  39;   Prop.  4,  i, 

2  and  44 ;   Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  13 
shield  of.  Prop.  4,  6,  27 
letas  =  senectus,  Tib.  i,  i,  71 
Vethiopis,  Cat.  66,  52 


aetiological  elegy.  Prop.  4,  i,  Intr. ;  4,  4, 

Intr. ;   4,  6,  Intr. 
aetiological  series  planned.  Prop.   4,    i, 

Intr.  and  69 
Aetna,  Cat.  68,  53 ;  Prop.  3,  2,  7 
Agamemnon,  Prop.  3,  7,  21  sqq. ;  4,  6,  33 
Aganippe,  Prop.  2,  10,  25 
Ailia  of  C  .llimachus,  p.  19 

a  model  for  Propertius,  p.  20 
Ajax  Oileus,  Prop.  4,  1,  117 
Alba  Longa,  Tib.  i,  7,  57  sq. ;   2,  s,  49; 

Prop.  4,  I,  35;  4,  6,  37 
Albunea,  Tib.  2,  5,  69  sq. 
albus  an  ater,  Cat.  93,  2 
Alcinous,  Prop,  i,  14,  24;  3,  2,  13 
Alcmaeon,  Prop.  3,  s,  41 
Alexander  the  Aetolian,  p.  20 
Alexandria,  Prop.  3,  11,  a 
Alexandrian  elegy,  pp.  18  sqq. 
aliquis  =  quisquam,  Cat.  73,  2 
alHteration,  Cat.  76,  20;    Tib.  i,  10,  2; 

Prop.  4,  3,  50 
Alps,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  19 
Amalthea,  Tib.  2,  5,  67 
Amathus,  Cat.  68,  51 
Amathusia,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  15,  is 
Amazons,  Prop.  3,  11,  14;   4,  4,  72 
Ambarvalia,  Tib.  i,  i,  20  and  21;    2,  i, 

Intr. 
ambiguity.  Prop,  i,  9,  4  and  13  ;   3.  4.  7 ; 

3,  II,  37  and  51 ;  3,  18,  30;  4,  6, 

47  and  59 
Amor,  Tib.  2,  i,  80;  Prop,  i,  1,4;   i.  2, 

8;   2,  12,  I 
Amores,  revision  of  the,  Ovid,  Am.  Ep. 

Ips. 
Amphion,  Prop.  1,9,  10 
Amprfiitryoniades,  Cat.  68,  112 
Amymone,  Prop.  2,  26,  47 
Anchises,  Tib.  2,  5,  39 
Androroede.  Prop.  2,  28,  21. 


429 


GENERAL,    INDEX 


animi,  pleonastic,  Cat.  102,  2 

Anio,  Prop.  3,  16,  3  sq. 

ante  .  .  .  donee,  Prop,  i,  g,  29 

Antilochus,  Prop.  2,  13,  49 

Antimachus,  Cat.  95,  10 

Antimachus  of  Colophon,  p.  18 
author  of  the  epic  Thehais,  p.  18 
prototype  of  Alexandrian  elegy,  p.  18 

Antioch,  Prop.  2,  13,  30 

Antony,  p.  24;   Prop.  3,  11,  31 

antrum,  Prop,  i,  i,  11 ;  4,  4,  3 

Anubis,  Prop.  3,  11,  41 

Apama,  Cat.  66,  27 

Apelles,  Prop,  i,  2,  22;   3,  9,  11 

Aphrodite  Anadyomene,  Prop,  i,  2,  22 

Apis,  Tib.  I,  7,  28 

Apollo,  Tib.  2,  s,  I ;   Prop,  i,  8b,  41 ;    2, 
31,  5  and  13;  3,  9,  39;  4,  6,  67; 
Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  35;   3,  9,  21 
Citharoedus,  Prop.  2,  31,  15;   4,  6,  69 
Leucadian  temple  of.  Prop.  3,  11,  69 
Lycian,  Prop.  3,  i,  38 
Palatine  temple  of.  Prop.  2,  31,  Intr. 

Appendix  Vergiliana,  p.  28 

Aqua  Marcia,  Prop.  3,  2,  14 

Aquarius,  Cat.  66,  94 

Aquilo,  Prop.  3,  7,  13  and  71 

Aquitanian    campaign    of    TibuUus,    p. 
34,  n.  I  ;  Tib.  i,  7,  Intr. 

Arabes,  Tib.  3,  2,  24 

Arabia,  Prop.  2,  10,  16 

Arabs,  Tib.  4,  2,  18 

Arar,  Tib.  i,  7,  11 

Aratus,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  16 

Araxes,  Prop.  4,  3,  35 

archaisms.  Cat.  84,  9 

archers,  the  typical,  Tib.  2,  5,  105 

Archilochus,  p.  16 

Archytas,  Prop.  4,  i,  77 

Arctos  (Callisto),  0\ad,  Trtst.  i,  3,  48 

Arellius  Fuscus,  p.  55 

Arethusa,  Prop.  4,  3,  Intr. 

Arethusa  and  Lycotas,  p.  57 

Argo,    Prop.    2,    26,   39;    Ovid,   Am.    2, 
II,  I 

Argynnus,  Prop.  3,  7,  22 

Ariadne,  Cat.  66,  60 ;  Prop.  4,  4,  41 

Arion,  Prop.  2,  26,  18 

Aristaeus,  p.  24 

Aristotle,  p.  18 

Armenian  tigres,  Prop,  i,  9,  19 


Arrius,  p.  25 ;   Cat.  84,  passim 

Arsinoe,  Cat.  66,  54 

Ascanius,  Tib.  2,  5,  49 

Ascra,  Prop.  2,  10,  25 

Asinius    Pollio,    Tib.    i,    i,    53;     Ovid, 

Trist.  4,  10,  57 
aspirate  in  Latin,  Cat.  84,  Intr. 
Assisi,  Prop,  i,  22,  9;   4,  i,  124  sq. 
assonance,  Tib.  i,  10,  2 
Assyria,  Tib.  3,  2,  24 
Assyrius  =  Syrius,    Cat.    66,    12;     Tib. 

I,  3,  7 
astrology.  Prop,  i,  6,  36;    2,  27,  3;   4,  i, 

83 
at,  Tib.  I,  3.  63 
at  =  ac,  Tib.  i,  3,  87 
-Atalanta  of  Arcadia,  Prop,  i,  i,  10 
.\tax,  Tib.  I,  7,  4 
Athamanes,  Prop.  4,  6,  15 
Athena's  eyes.  Prop.  2,  28,  12 
Athens,  Prop,  i,  6,  13 ;  3,  21,  i 
.\thos,  Cat.  66,  43 
atqtic,  adversative.  Prop,  i,  9,  8;    2,  13, 

43 
Atrax,  Prop,  i,  8,  25 
Atrides,  Prop.  3,  18,  30 
Attains,  Prop.  2,  13,  22 
attitude  in  prayer.  Cat.  66,  10 
audit  =  dicitiir.  Cat.  68,  112 
augury,  Roman,  Tib.  2,  5,  11 
Augustus,  Prop.  2,  10,  IS  and  17;  2,  31, 
2  ;  4.  6,  23 

diplomacy  of.  Prop.  3,  4,  i 

Prince ps.  Prop.  3,  11,  55 

worship  of,  Prop.  3,  4,  I 
.\ulis.  Prop.  4,  I,  109 
.\urora,  Tib.  i,  3,  93 
autobiographies  of  the  poets.  Prop.  1,22, 

Intr. ;   0\ad,  Trist.  4,  10,  Intr. 
Aventine,  Prop.  4,  i,  50 
Avernus,  Prop.  3,  18,  i ;  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9, 

27 
"  Ayenbite  of  Inwyt,"  Prop.  3,  3,  4 


B 


Babylon,  walls  of.  Prop.  3,  11,  23 
Bacchus,  Tib.  2,  i,  Intr. ;   2,  i,  3  and  55  ; 
Ovid,  Am.  i,  3,  11 
effeminate  garb  of,  Tib.  i,  7,  46 
festival  processions  of,  Tib.  i,  7,  48 


430 


GENERAL   INDEX 


introducer  of  the  vine,  Prop.  3,  18,  5 

ivy  sacred  to,  Tib.  i,  7,  45 

patron  of  poetry,  Prop.  3,  2,  g;    Ovid, 
Am.  3,  15.  17 
Bactra,  Prop.  3,  i,  16;  3,  11,  26;  4,  3,  7 
Baiae,  Prop.  3,  18,  2  and  7 
barbers,  Tib.  i,  7,  16 
Bassus,  p.  45  ;   p.  ss  ;   Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10, 

47 
Battiades,  Cat.  116,  2 
Battus,  Cat.  65,  16 
Bellerophon,  Prop.  3,  3,  2 
Berenice,  Cat.  66,  Intr. 
'Berenice's  Hair,'  of  Callimachus,  p.  20 
Bicorniger,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  a 
Bion,  Prop.  2,  13,  53 
Bittis,  p.  ig 

body  and  soul  confused.  Prop.  4,  11,  3 
Bona  Dea,  Tib.  3,  5,  7 
Bootes,  Cat.  66,  67 ;   Prop.  3,  s,  35 
Boreas,  Prop.  2,  26,  51   sq. ;   Ovid,  Her. 

13.  15 
Bosporus,  Prop.  3,  11,  68 
Bovillae,  Prop.  4,  i,  33 
brachyology.  Prop,  i,  2,  30;  3,  11,  15 
Britain,  Prop.  4,  3,  g 
Britanni,  Prop.  2,  27,  5 
bronze,  Corinthian,  Prop.  3,  5,  6 
Browning,  Prop.  3,  3>  4 
Brutus,  L.  Junius,  Prop.  4,  i,  45 
bucina,  Prop.  4,  4,  63 
building  stones.  Prop,  i,  14,  ig 
burial  customs,  Tib.  3,  2,  10 


Cadmus,  Prop,  i,  7,  i ;   3,  g,  38 
Caesar,  Augustus,  Prop.  4,  6,  17 
Gaius  and  Lucius,  Prop.  4,  6,  82 
Julius,  p.  27 ;    Cat.  g3,  i ;    Prop.  3,  3, 
45  ;    3,  4.  19;    3,  II,  34  and  38; 

4.  6,  17 

and  Catullus,  p.  25 

portents  at  assassination  of,  Tib.  2, 

5,  71 

star  of,  Prop.  4,  6,  sg 
caesura  in  hexameters,  p.  64 
Calamis,  Prop.  3,  g,  10 
Calchas,  Prop.  4,  i,  log 
Callimachus,  p.  ig;  Prop.  3,  i,  i ;  3,  g,  43  ; 
Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  13  sq. 


and  AfX)llonius,  p.  58 

Coma  Berenices  of,  p.  2g 

imitated.  Cat.  70,  3 
Callinus,  p.  16;   Prop.  4,  i,  28 
CalUope,  Prop.  3.  3,  5i ;   4.' 6,  12 
Calhopea,  Prop,  i,  2,  28;   3,  2,  16;   3,  3, 

38 
Callisto,  Cat.  66,  66;   Prop.  2,  28,  23 
Calvus,  Licinius,  pp.   23  and  25;    Cat. 
g6,  2 ;  Ovid,  Am.  3,  g,  62 

place  among  elegists,  p.  28 
Calypso,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  15 
Cambyses,  Prop.  2,  26,  23 
Camillus,  M.  Furius,  Prop.  3,  g,  31;  3, 

II,  67 
Campania,  Prop.  3,  s,  5 
Cannae,  Prop.  3,  3,  10 
Canopus,  Prop.  3,  11,  3g 
Capena  (porta),  Prop.  4,  3,  71 
Caphareus,  Prop.  2,  26,  38;   3,  7,  3g 
capiti  (abl.),  Cat.  68,  124 
Capitoline  hill.  Prop.  4,  4,  i 
CapitoUne-Juppiter  temple,  Prop.  2,  31, 

II ;   4,  4,  2 
carmina,  Cat.  65,  16 
Carnuti,  Tib.  i,  7,  12 
Carpathium  mare.  Prop.  3,  7,  12 
Carrara  marble,  Prop.  2,  31,  9 
Carrhae,  Prop.  4,  6,  84 
Carystus,  Tib.  3,  3,  14 
Casa  RomuH,  Prop.  4,  i,  g 
Cassandra,  Prop.  4,  i,  51  and  117 
cassida  (nom.).  Prop.  3,  11,  15 
Cassiepeia,  Prop.  2,  28,  51 
Cassiope,  Prop,  i,  17,  3 
Castalia,  Prop.  3,  3,  13 
Castalian  spring,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  36 
Castor,  Cat.  68,  65  ;   Prop.  2,  26,  g 
Castor  and  Pollux,  Prop,  i,  17,  18;  Ovid, 

Am.  2,  II,  2g;    2,  16,  13 
Catullus,  pp.  25  sqq. ;    Ovid,  Am.  3,  g, 
62;    3,  IS,  7 

authors  citing,  p.  28,  n.  5 

'Berenice's    Hair'     an    imitation    of 
CalUmachus,  p.  20 

early  life,  p.  25 

editions,  p.  31 

education,  p.  25 

end  of  life,  p.  27 

influence    of    Alexandrian    school   on, 
p.  28 


431 


GENERAL  INDEX 


influence  on  other  Roman  writers,  p.  28 

journey  to  the  east,  p.  27;    Cat.  loi, 
Intr. 

manuscripts,  p.  30 

oldest  extant  Roman  elegies  his,  p.  22 

place  among  elegists,  p.  28 

relations  with  Clodia,  p.  26 
Catulus,  Q.  Lutatius,  p.  22 
Caucasus,  Prop,  i,  14,  6;    Ovid,  Am.  2, 

16,  40 
celeber,  Tib.  2,  i,  33  and  83 ;  4,  4,  23 
Centaurs,  Prop.  4,  6,  4g 
Cepheus,  Prop.  4,  6,  78 
Cephisodotus,  Prop.  2,  31,  15 
Cephisus,  Prop.  3,  7,  22 
Cerberus,  Tib.  i,  3,  71 ;    Prop.  3,  5,  44 ; 

3,  18,  23;  4,  II,  25 

Ceres,  Tib.  i,  i,  15;    2,  i,  Intr.  and  4  ; 

2,  5,  84;  Ovid,  Am.  i,  i,  9 
Cerinthus,  p.  37;   Tib.  4,  2,  Intr.;   4,  8, 

2;   4,  II,  I 
Chaldaeans,  Prop.  2,  27,  3 
Chalybes,  Cat.  66,  48 
chariot  racing.  Prop.  3,  9,  57  sq. 
Charon,  Prop.  2,  27,  14;   2,  28,  39;  3,  18, 

24  and  32  ;  4,  11,  7  and  69 
Charybdis.  Prop.  2,  26,  54;    Ovid,  Am. 

2,^  16,  25 
Chian  vrine,  Tib.  2,  i,  27  sq. 
chiasmus.  Cat.  66,  76;   Tib.  i,  3,  5 
Chios,  Prop.  3,  7,  49 
Chryseis,  Prop.  4,  6,  33 
Cicero,  as  poet,  pp.  18  and  22 

his  estimate  of  Roman  literature,  p.  21 
Cilices,  Tib.  i,  7,  16 
Cilician  safiron.  Prop.  4,  6,  74 
Cimmerii,  Tib.  3,  5,  24 
Cinna,  Helvius,  p.  25 ;   Cat.  95,  Intr. 
Cinyras,  Cat.  95,  i 
circum  in  Tibullus,  Tib.  i,  3,  68 
Cithaeron,  Prop.  3,  2,  5 
Claudia  Quinta,  Prop,  4,  11,  51 
Clearistus,  p.  17 
Cleopatra,   Prop.  3,   11,   29  et    passim; 

4.  6,  57 

death  of.  Prop.  3,  11,  53 

fleet  of.  Prop.  4,  6,  63 
Cloaca  Maxima,  Tib.  2,  5,  33 
Clodia,  p.  26 

her  attempted  reconciliation,  p.  27 
Clotho,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  46 


Coan  silks,  Tib.  4,  6,  13 ;  Prop,  i,  2,  2 

coetu  (dat.),  Cat.  66,  37 

Coeus,  Prop.  3,  9,  48 

cohors,  Tib.  i,  3,  2 

Coleridge,  Ovid,  Am.  1,  i,  27 

collective  use  of  nouns,  Tib.  i,  i,  51 

color,  Prop,  i,  18,  17  ;  4,  3,  28 

color  of  lovers,  Prop.  3,  16,  19 

Coma  Berenices,  of  Catullus,  p.  29;   Cat. 

66,  Intr. 
comedy,  stock  characters  in,  Ovid,  Am, 

}'  ^^'  ^7 
Cominius,  of  Spoletium,  Cat.  108,  i 

Compitalia,  Prop.  4,  i,  23 

conative,  impf.,  Tib.  i,  3,  9 

pres..  Cat.  99,  5 

conclamatio.  Prop,  i,  17,  21 

conditions,  mixed,  Prop.  2,  26,  58 

Conon,  Cat.  66,  7  ;   Prop.  4,  i,  78 

Consolalio  ad  Liviam,  p.  58 

copula,  omission  of,  Tib.  i,  10,  26 

Corinna,  pp.  57  sq. ;   Oxdd,  Am.  i,  3,  5  ; 

2,  II,  8;    2,  17,  7  and  10;    Trist. 

4,  10,  60 
Corinth,  Prop.  3,  5,  6 
ComeUa,  Prop.  4,  11,  Intr.  et  Passim 
Cornelius,  Cat.  102,  4 
Cornelius,  Gains,  Cat.  108,  Intr. 
CorneUus  Fidus,  Ovid,  Trist.  i,  3,  19 
Cornutus,  p.  34;  Tib.  2,  2,  Intr. 
Corvus,  M.  Valerius,  Prop.  3,  11,  64 
Crassi,  Prop.  2,  10,  14;   3,  4,  Q;  3.  S.  48; 

4,  6,  84 
Cretans,  Prop.  2,  12,  10 
Critias,  p.  18 
Croesus,  Prop.  2,  26,  23 ;  3,  5,  17 ;  3,  18, 

28 
crucifixion.  Cat.  99,  4 
cum  concessive  with  indicative,  Tib.  2, 

6,47 
Cumae,  Tib.  3,  5,  24 
Cupid,  Tib.  2,  i,  67  ;   2,  5,  39;  Ovid,  Am. 

I,  I,  3 
cura  =  amata,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  32 
Cures,  Prop.  4,  4,  9 
Curia,  Prop.  4,  i,  11 ;   4,  4,  13 
Curiatii,  Prop.  3,  3,  7 
Curtius,  Prop.  3,  11,  61 
Cybele,  Tib.  2,  i,  86;  Prop.  4,  11,  51  sq. 
Cydnus,  Tib.  i,  7,  13 
Cyllene,  Cat.  68,  109 


432 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Cymothoe,  Prop.  2,  26,  16 
Cynthia,  p.  46 ;   Prop.  1,1,1;  3.  21.  0 
separated  from  Propertius  for  a  year. 
Prop.  I,  I,  7 
Cynthia  Monobiblos,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  g,  31 
Cypria,  Tib.  3,  3,  34 
Cyrene,  Prop.  4,  6,  4 
Cyrnus,  p.  18 
Cytae,  Prop,  i,  i,  24 
Cythera,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  4 
Cytherea,  Ovid,  Am.  1,  3,  4 
Cytheris,  p.  24 

D 

Damocles,  p.  17 

Danaides,  Tib.  i,  3,  70;   Prop.  2,  31,  4; 

4.  II.  27 
dative,  Greek  plural,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  137 
poetic,  Prop.  4,  3,  71 
poetic  with  contendo,  Prop,  i,  7,  3 
Daulias,  Cat.  65,  14 
dead,  state  of  the,  Tib.  i,  10,  37 
deae  =  Musae,  Cat.  68,  41 
death,  early,  regarded  as  a  punishment. 
Prop.  4,  n,  17 
expressions  for,  Tib.  2,  6,   2g ;     Prop. 
I,  iQ,  I ;  4,  II,  8 
Decius,  Prop.  3,  11,  62  ;   4,  i,  45 
degenerasse,  transitive  use  of,  Prop.  4,  i, 

79 
Deiphobus,  Prop.  3,  i,  29 
Delia,  p.  35  ;  Tib.  i,  i,  61 ;   i,  3,  9 ;  Ovid, 
Am.  3,  Q,  31  and  55 

not  married,  Tib.  i,  3,  92 
Delos,  Prop.  4,  6,  27 
Demetrius,  Cat.  66,  27 
Demodocus,  p.  17 

Demosthenes,  p.  17;   Prop.  3,  21,  27 
depositio  barbae,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  58 
deprecor  =  'denounce,'  Cat.  92,  3 
devotion  of  hair.  Cat.  66,  9 
diaeresis,  p.  67 ;  Tib.  i,  7,  2 
Diana,  Ephesian  temple  of.  Prop.  3,  g,  11 

Nemorensis,  Prop.  2,  28,  60 
diction  (word-coinage),  Prop.  3,  21,  18 
diminutives.  Cat.  65,  6 
Dionysius  Chalcus,  p.  18 
Dionysus,  Tib.  2,  i,  55 
Dis,  Tib.  3,  5,  n 
divination.  Prop.  4,  i,  104  sqq. 

ROM.  EL.  POETS  —  28 


Prop 


docks  of  Rome,  Prop,  i,  i4>  4 
docta  puella,  p.  46 ;  Tib.  4,  6, 

I,  7,  II ;   2,  13,  II 
doclae  virgines.  Cat.  65,  2 
doclus  poeta,  p.  20 
Dodona,  Prop,  i,  9,  5 
dolphin.  Prop.  2,  26,  17 
Domitius  Marsus,  p.  31 
Doris,  Prop,  i,  17,  25 
doves,    sacred   to   Venus   and   to   Zeus, 

Prop.  I,  9,  5 
drama,  origin  of,  Tib.  2,  i,  55 
dum  with  the  future.  Prop,  i,  14,  14 
Dysparis,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  43 


E 


earthquakes.  Prop.  3,  5,  33 

eclipses.  Prop.  3,  5,  34 

Egeria,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  18 

Egypt  compared  with  Rome,  Prop.  3,  11, 

41 
elegiac  distich,  pp.  61  sq. ;   Prop,  i,  7,  19 

adaptability  to  different  subjects,  p.  16 

embelUshments,  p.  62 

tendency  to  make  each  complete,  p.  62 
elegidia,  p.  37 

elegists,  Ovid's  canon  of  the  Roman,  p.  28 
elegy,  pp.  15  sqq. 

aetiological,  p.  59 

Alexandrian,  pp.  18,  28 

character  of,  p.  21 

different  names  of,  p.  16 

gnomic,  p.  17 

Greek  origin  of,  p.  15 

intended  to  be  sung,  p.  18 

objective  erotic,  p.  18 

pre-Roman,  pp.  15  sqq. 

Roman,  p.  20  sqq. 

subjective  erotic,  p.  18 

subjects  of,  p.  16 
Elis,  Prop.  I,  8b,  36 
elision,  pp.  62,  66 

of  long  syllable,  Tib.  2,  i,  4T 

of  s,  Cat.  116,  8 
ellipsis,  Prop.  3,  7,  49 
Elysian  Fields,  Tib.  3,  5,  23  ;    Prop.  4,  11, 

102  ;   Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  60 
Enalos,  Prop.  2,  26,  ig 
Ennius,  p.  22;  Prop.  3,  3,  i  and  6;  4,  i, 
61 ;  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  ig 

433 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Eos,  Prop.  3,  24,  7 

Epicurean  science,  Prop.  3,  5,  45 

Epicurus,  Prop.  3,  21,  26 

epistolium.  Cat.  68,  2 

epithets  for  winds.  Prop.  2,  26,  36 

Eridanus,  Prop,  i,  12,  4 

ero5  =  deos,  Cat.  68,  76 

Eros  in  art,  Prop.  2,  12,  Intr. 

Erythraeus,  Tib.  3,  3,  17 

ewe,  ellipsis  of,  Tib.  i,  i,  75  ;   i,  3.  2 

with  participle  =  finite  verb,  Prop.  4, 
6,1 
est  quibus  =  sunt  guibus,  Prop.  3>  Q.  i7- 
Eteocles,  Prop,  i,  7,  2 
'eternal  city,'  Tib.  2,  5,  23 
et    introducing    exclamatory     question, 

Prop.  4,  4,  17 
Etruria,  hot  springs  in,  Tib.  3,  5,  i 
Euenus,  p.  18;   Prop,  i,  2,  18 
Eumenides,  Prop.  4,  11,  22 
Euphorion,  p.  19 

translated  by  Callus,  p.  24 
Euphrates,  Prop.  2,  10,  13 
Europa,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  3,  23 
Europe,  Prop.  2,  28,  52 
Eurystheus,  Cat.  68,  114 
Euxine,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  97 
Evander,  Prop.  4,  i,  4 
eviolasse,  Prop,  i,  7,  16 
expers  (active),  Cat.  66,  77 
exta,  Tib.  2,  i,  25 


Fabii,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  73 

Fabius  Cunctator,  Prop.  3,  3,  9 

Falemian  wine,  Tib.  2,  i,  27  sq. 

Fama,  Prop.  3.  i,  0 

Feriae  Sementivae,  Tib.  i,  i,  21 

Jerri  duritiem.  Cat.  66,  50 

festival  customs,  Tib.  2,  i,  24 

festivals  of  purification,  Tib.  i,  i,  21 

Fidenae,  Prop.  4,  i,  36 

figureheads  on  ships.  Prop.  4,  6,  49 

flattery,  Prop.  3,  24,  6 

fleet,  size  of  Agamemnon's,  in   Homer, 

Ovid,  Her.  13,  97 
flute,  origin  of,  Prop.  4,  6,  8 
focus,  Tib.  I,  I,  6 

Fortuna,  Tib.  3,  3,  22 ;  Prop,  i,  6,  25 
Redux,  Prop.  4,  3,  17 


Forum  Romanum,  Prop.  4,  4,  13 
fulcire,  Prop,  i,  8,  7 
Jumarium,  Tib.  2,  i,  27 
funeral  customs.  Cat.  loi,  2  ;  Tib.  3,  2, 
10  sqq. ;   Prop,  i,  17,  21 ;    2,  13, 
19  sqq. ;  4,  11,  9  sq. 
Furius  Bibaculus,  p.  25 
future,  archaic,  Prop.  3,  21,  32 

of  mild  command.  Cat.  68,  31 
future  perfect  =  future.  Cat.  65,  9 
future  punishment,  Prop.  3,  5,  39 


Gabii,  Prop.  4,  i,  34 

Galatea,  Prop,  i,  8,  18;    3,  2,  7 ;    Ovid, 

Am.  2,  II,  34 
Gallicus  =  Troianus,  Prop.  2,  13,  48 
Callus,  C.  Cornelius,  p.  23;    Ovid,  Am. 

I,  15,  29 ;  3,  9,  64 ;  Trist.  4,  10,  S3 
and  Euphorion,  p.  19 
and  Parthenius,  p.  20 
friend  of  Vergil,  p.  24 
his  place  among  elegists,  p.  28 
Gellius,  Cat.  116,  Intr. 
genitive  with  dissolvo,  Tib.  i,  7,  40 
Genius,  a  man's,  Tib.  i,  7,  49  sq. ;   2,  2,  5 
geographical   vagueness,    Tib.    i,    3,    7; 

Prop.  4.  3, 10 
geography,  poetic.  Prop.  3,  3,  13;    4.  4, 

71 
Getae,  Prop.  4,  3-  9 ;   Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10, 

no 
Gigantomachia,  Prop.  3,  9,  47 
Glaucus,  Prop.  2,  26,  13 
Glycera,  p.  35 ;  Tib.  4,  13,  Intr. 
golden  age,  Tib.  i,  3,  35 ;   2,  i,  38 
Gorgon,  Prop.  3,  3,  32 
Graecia,  Prop.  3,  7,  40;  4,  i,  116 
Gray's  Elegy,  Tib.  i,  i,  57 
Greek  constructions.  Prop.  3,  9,  17 
Gyges,  lake  of.  Prop.  3,  11,  18 


H 


Hades,  Tib.  3,  3,  38 

Hadria,  Prop,  i,  6,  i 

Haedi,  Prop.  2,  26,  56 

Haemonian,  Prop.  2,  10,  2;  3,  i,  26 

"halcyon  days,"  Prop,  i,  17,  2 

Hannibal,  Prop.  3,  3.  u  ;  3,  n,  59 


434 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Harpies,  Prop.  3,  5,  41 

Harpocrates,  Cat.  102,  4 

hasta  pura,  Prop.  4,  3,  68 

Hebe,  Cat.  68,  1I6 

Hector,  Prop.  3,  i,  28;    4,  6,  38;    Ovid, 
Her.  13,  63  and  65 

Helen,  Prop.  3,  9,  39;   Ovid,  Her.  13,  45 
and  61 

Helenus,  Prop.  3,  i,  29 

Helicon,  Prop.  2,  10,  i ;    3.  3.  i  ;    Ovid, 
Am.  I,  I,  15 ;    Trist.  4,  10,  23 

Helle,  Prop.  2,  26,  5 

Heracles,  Cat.  68,  112;   Prop.  3,  i,  32 

Hercules,  Pillars  of.  Prop.  3,  11,  19 
the  road  of.  Prop.  3,  18,  4 

Hermesianax,  p.  19 

Hero  and  Leander,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  29 

Herophile,  Tib.  2,  5,  67 

Hesiod,  Prop.  2,  10,  25 ;  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15, 
II 

hexameter,  caesura  in,  p.  64 
dactylic  beginning  of,  p.  63 
endings  in,  p.  62 
monosyllabic  endings  in,  p.  63 
polysyllabic  endings  in,  p.  63 
proportior  of  dactyls  and  spondees  in, 

P-  63 

rime  in,  p.  63 

spondees  in,  p.  63 
hiatus,  p.  67 
hie  =  ego,  Tib.  2,  6,  7 
hie  temporal.  Cat.  66,  59 
Hilaira,  Prop,  i,  2,  15 
Hippocrene,  Prop.  2,  10,  25 

origin  of,  Prop.  3,  3,  2 
Hippodamia,  Prop,  i,  8b,  35 
Hippolyte,  Prop.  4,  3,  43 
Hirtius  and  Pansa,  Tib.  3,  5,  18 
Homer,  Tib.  4,   13,  11;    Prop,  i,  7-  3; 
2,  28,  29;   3,  I,  33  ;   Ovid,  Am.  1, 
IS,  9  ;   3,  9.  25  ;   Trisi.  4,  10,  22 
honey  in  sacrifices,  Tib.  i,  10,  24 
Horace,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  49 

and  Propertius,  p.  45 

and  Tibullus,  p.  33 

his  estimate  of  Roman  poetry,  p.  21 
Horatii,  Prop.  3,  3,  7 
Horatius  Codes,  Prop.  3,  11,  63 
Horops,  Prop.  4,  i,  77 
Horos,  Prop.  4,  i,  78 
Hortensius,  Cat.  65,  Intr. ;  95,  3 


Horus,  Cat.  102,  4 

hospes,  Cat.  68,  12 

Hylacus,  Prop,  i,  i,  13 

Hyllus,  Prop,  x,  8,  26 

Hymen,  Cat.  68,  134;    Prop.  4,  3,  16; 

4,  4,  6x 
Hymettus,  Tib.  i,  7,  54 
hypallage,  Prop.  3.  7.  2 ;   3.  18,  23 
Hypanis,  Prop,  i,  12,  4 
hyperbole.  Prop.  3,  7,  46;   4>  3.  6;   4,  6, 
34  and  63 

in  Catullus,  Cat.  108,  3 

in  Propertius,  Prop.  3,  7,  35 


iam  .  .  .  iam,  Tib.  i,  i,  25 
Ibis,  of  Callimachus,  p.  20 
Icarius,  Cat.  66,  67  ;    Ovid,  Am.  2,  16, 

4 
Ida,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  9 
Idalium,  Prop.  2,  13,  54;   4,  6,  59 
Idas,  Prop,  i,  2,  18 

identifications,  erroneous,  Prop.  4  4,  40 
Ilia,  Tib.  2,  5,  52 
Iliad,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  29 
Ilion,  Tib.  2,  5,  22 ;  Prop.  3,  i,  31 
Illyria,  Prop,  i,  8,  2 
immortality  conditionally  stated.  Cat.  96, 

I 
imperative,  colloquial  in  -to,  Tib.  i,  10, 

67;   4,  2.  3 
Inachus,  Prop.  2,  13,  8;    Ovid,  Her.  13, 

134 
incense,  Prop.  2,  10,  24 
India,  Prop.  2,  10,  15 
Indian  Ocean,  Tib.  2,  2,  16 
Indians,  Prop.  3,  4,  i 
indicative  in  indirect  questions,  Prop.  3, 

S,  27 
Indigetes,  Tib.  2,  5,  44 
inferni=  inferi,  Prop.  2,  28,  49 
infinitive  in  -ier.  Cat.  68,  141 

of  purpose.  Prop.  3,  i,  14;   Ovid,  Her. 

13.  77 
with  eausa,  Tib.  3,  2,  30 
ingratus,  passive.  Cat.  73,  3 
Ino,  Prop.  2,  28,  19 
lo.  Prop.  2,  28,  17;  Ovid,  Am.  i,  3,  21 
Ionia,  Prop.  1,  6,  31 
lope.  Prop.  2,  28,  51 


435 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Iphiclus,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  25 

Iphigenia,  Prop.  3,  7,  24;   4,  i,  iii 

ipse  with  names  of  divinities,  Tib.  2,  i,  67 

ire  =  esse,  Prop.  3,  11,  37 

Irus,  Prop.  3.  5.  17 

Isaiah,  Tib.  i,  i,  31 

Isis,  Prop.  2,  28,  18 

Isis  worship  at  Rome,  Tib.  i,  3,  23  sqq. 

Ismarian,  Cat.  66,  59;   Prop.  2,  13,  6 

Isthmos  (of  Corinth),  Prop.  3,  21,  22 

Itaha,  Prop,  i,  22,  4 

Itylus,  Cat.  65,  14 

iuerint,  Cat.  66,  18 

lulus,  Prop.  4,  I,  48 ;  4,  6,  37  ;  Ovid,  Am. 

3,  Q,  14 
ius  trium  liberoriim.  Prop.  4,  11,  61 
luventas,  Cat.  68,  116 
Ixion,  Tib.  i,  3,  73  ;  Prop.  3.  5.  42 


jeweled  rings,  Prop.  4,  3,  52 

Jugurtha,  Prop.  3,  5,  16 

Julia,  daughter  of  Agrippa,  p.  56;  Prop. 

4.  II.  63 
daughter    of    Augustus,    pp.    56,    59; 
Prop.  3.  18,  Intr. ;   4,  11,  59 
Juno,  Tib.  i,  3,  73;   4.  i3,  iS;   Prop.  2, 

28,  II  and  34 
Juno,  a  woman's,  Tib.  i,  7,  49 ;  4,  6,  i 
Juppiter,  Cat.  70,  2;   Prop.  3,  11,  28 
Ammon,  Prop.  4,  i,  103 
Capitolinus,  Prop.  4,  i,  7 
Indiges,  Tib.  2,  5,  43 
temple,  saved  by  geese.  Prop.  2>,  S,  12 
jury  ballots.  Prop.  4,  11,  49 
Juventius,  p.  35  ;   Cat.  99,  i 


lacus  Umber,  Prop.  4,  i ,  124 

Laevius,  p.  22 

Laodamia,  Cat.  68,  74;   Ovid,  Her.  13 

Laom.edon,  Prop.  2,  28,  54;   3,  i,  32 

lap-dog,  Prop.  4,  3,  55 

lararium,  Tib.  i,  10,  16 

Lares,  Tib.  i,  10,  15  sqq. 

Compitales,  Prop.  4,  3,  57 

worship  of,  Tib.  i,  3,  34;  Prop.  4.  3,  53 
laticlavia  {hinica),  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  29 
Latinus,  Tib.  2,  5,  41 


Latmus,  Cat.  66,  5 

laurel  burning,  Tib.  2,  5,  81 

laurel  leaves  and  prophecy,  Tib.  2,  5,  64 

Laurentum,  Tib.  2,  5,  41  find  49 

lauriis,  declension  of,  Tib.  2,  5,  63 

Lavinium,  Tib.  2,  5,  49 

Lechaeum,  Prop.  3,  21,  19 

lectus  fiinebris,  Prop.  2,  13,  21 

lectus  gcnialis,  Prop.  4,  11,  85 

Leda, Ovid, y4»!.  I,  3,  22;   2,11,29;  Her. 

13,  61 
lengthening  of   final   short    syllables  in 

thesis,  p.  67,  Tib.  i,  10,  13  ;  2,  2, 

5 
Leo,  Cat.  66,  65 
Leontion,  p.  19 
Lepida,  Prop.  4,  11,  67 
Lepidus  and  PauUus,  sons  of  Cornelia, 

Prop.  4,  II,  63 
Lema,  Prop.  2,  26,  47 
Lesbia  =  Clodia,  p.  26 
Lesbian  wine.  Prop,  i,  14,  2 
Lethe,  Cat.  65,  5 ;  Tib.  3,  3,  10;  3.  5,  24 
Leto,  Prop.  2,  31,  15 
Leucothoe,  Prop.  2,  26,  10;    2,  28,  20 
libellus,  Prop.  2,  13,  25 
Libo,  L.  Scribonius,  Prop.  4,  11,  31 
Liburnian  galleys,  Prop.  3,  11,  44 
Liger,  Tib.  i,  7,  i2« 
linen,  Prop.  4,  3,  64 

Linus,  Prop.  2,  13,  8;  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  23 
literature,     contemporary    estimate    of, 

p.  21 
Locridos,  Cat.  66,  54 
lovers'  gifts,  Cat.  65,  19 
lower  world,  rivers  of  the,  Tib.  i,  10,  38 
Lucifer,  Tib.  i,  3.  94 
Lucilius,  p.  22 
Lucina,  Prop.  4,  i,  99 
lucky  days,  Cat.  107,  6 
Lucretia,  Prop.  4,  3,  18 
Lucretius,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  23  sq. 

and  Memmius,  p.  27  n. 

debt  of  his  successors  to.  Prop.  3,  5,  31 
Lucrine  lake,  Prop.  3,  18,  4 
ludi  quinquennales.  Prop.  4,  6,  Intr. 
ludi  saeculares,  Tib.  2,  5,  Intr. 
lumine  =  die,  Cat.  66,  79 
Lupercalia,  Prop.  4,  i,  25  sq. 
luridus.  Prop.  4,  11,  8 
lusi,  Cat.  68,  17 


436 


GENERAL   INDEX 


lustrum,  Ovid,  Trisl.  4,  10,  g6 

luxli  and  similar  shortenings,  Cat.  66,  21 

Lyaeus,  Tib.  i,  7,  40;   3,  2,  19;    Prop.  3, 

5,  21 ;  Ovid,  .4w.  2,  11,  49 
Lycinna,  p.  46 
Lycmon,  Prop.  4,  i,  29 
Lycoris,  p.  24;   Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  30 
Lycotas,  Prop.  4,  3,  Intr. 
Lyde,  p.  18 
Lydia,  Prop,  i,  6,  32 
Lydius,  Tib.  3,  3,  29 
Lygdamus,  p.  36 ;  Tib.  3,  2,  29 

imitator  of  Tibullus,  Tib.  3,  2,  2 
Lynceus,  p.  45 
lyre,  Tib.  4,  2,  22 
Lysippus,  Prop.  3,  9,  9 


M 


2,6,  I ; 


Ovid 


Macer,  pp.  34,  55;   Tib. 
Trist.  4,  10,  43  sq. 
Maecenas,  p.  45  ;  Prop.  3,  9,  i  el  passim 
Maenad,  Prop.  4,  4,  72 
Maeonia,  Prop.  2,  28,  29 
Maeonides,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  25 
Maeotis,  Prop.  3,  11,  14 
magis  =  potius,  Cat.  73,  4;  Prop.  2,  13,  7 
magis,  adversative,  Cat.  66,  87 
Malea,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  24 
Malian  gulf.  Cat.  68,  54 
manes  =  cineres,  Prop.  2,  13,  32 
Mantua,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  15,  7 
Marathus,  p.  35 ;   Cat.  99,  Intr. 
marbles,  building,  in  Rome,  Tib.  i,  s,  14 
Marcellus,    M.    Claudius,    Prop.    3,    18, 
Intr.  et  passim 

shows  given  by,  Prop.  3,  18,  13 
Marcellus,    M.    Claudius,    conqueror   of 

Syracuse,  Prop.  3,  18,  33 
Marius,  Prop.  3,  3.  43;  3.  5, 16;  3,  11,  46 
Marpessa,  Prop,  i,  2,  18 
marriage,  age  at,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  69 
Mars,  Tib.  2,  i,  Intr.;    4,  2,  4;    Ovid, 
Am.  I,  I,  12 

pater.  Prop.  3.  4,  n 

temple  of,  near  Porta  Capena,  Prop. 

4.  3,  71 
Martial,  p.  28 
masks,  of  ancestors.  Prop.  4,  11,  32 

of  lovers,  Prop,  i,  i,  22 

origin  of,  Tib.  2,  i,  55 


Matronalia,  Tib.  4,  2,  Intr.  and  23 

mausoleum,  Prop.  3,  2,  21 

Mavors,  Prop.  2,  27,  8 

Maximianus,  p.  60 

Medea,  Prop,  i,  i,  24;  3.  n.  9;  3.  24,  lo 

Medi,  Cat.  66,  45 

Medusa,  Prop.  3,  3,  32 

Memmius,  C,  p.  27 

Memnon,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  I 

memorator,  Prop.  3,  i,  33 

Memphis,  Tib.  i,  7,  28;   Prop.  3,  11,  34 

Menandrus,  Prop.  3,  21,  28;  Ovid,  Am. 

I,  IS,  18 
Menelaus,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  73 
mens  animi,  Cat.  65,  4 
Mens  Bona,  Prop.  3,  24,  19 
Mentor,  Prop,  i,  14,  2;  3,  9,  13 
meretrix,  p.  46 
Meroe,  Prop.  4,  6,  78 
Messalinus,  Tib.  2,  5,  Intr.  and  17 

triumph  of,  Tib.  2,  S,  119 
Messalla,  Tib.  i,  i,  53;   i,  3,  i 

and  Tibullus,  pp.  33  sq. 

Aquitanian  campaign  of,  Tib.  i,  3,  Intr. 

panegyric  on,  p.  37 

triumph  of,  Tib.  2,  5,  5 
mela,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  15,  2 
metaphors,  mixed,  in  Propertius,  Prop.  3, 
9,  6 

mixture  of,  Prop.  3,  11,  54;  4,  11,  8 
Metellus  Celer,  Q.,  p.  26 
Mettius  Fufetius,  Ovid,  Trist.  i,  3,  75 
Mevania,  Prop.  4,  i,  123 
Midas,  Prop,  i,  18,  4 
Milanion,  Prop,  i,  i,  9 
milia  .  .  .  quingenta  as  a  hjTjerbole,  Cat. 

95,  3 
Milton,  Prop,  i,  18,  27 
Mimnermus,  p.  17  ;  Prop,  i,  9,  11 ;  i,  14, 

IS 
Minerva,  Tib.  2,  i,  65;    Prop,  i,  2,  30; 

Ovid,  Ai7i.  I,  I,  7  ;   2,  6,  35 
Minos,  Prop.  4,  4,  39;   4,  11,  21 
Minotaur,  Prop.  4,  4,  41 
Misenus,  Prop.  3,  18,  3 
Monobiblos,  p.  47,  n.  6 
monosyllabic  endings  in  the  hexameter, 

p.  63 
moods  in  deliberative  questions.  Cat.  66, 

47 
Mopsopus,  Tib.  i,  7,  54 

437 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Mors,  Tib.  i,  i,  70;    i,  3,  4 
Moschus,  Prop.  2,  12,  Intr.  and  6 
mourning,  tokens  of,  Ovid,  Trist.  i,  3,  go 
mulier.  Cat.  70,  i ;   Prop.  3,  24,  i 
Muses,  Prop.  3,  i,  17  and  19;  Ovid,  Am. 

I,  3,  II 
unrestricted  functions  of  the,  Prop.  3,  2, 

16 ;   4,  6,  12 
Myron,  Prop.  2,  31,  7 
Myrrha,  Cat.  95,  i 
Mys,  Prop.  3,  9,  14 
Mystes,  p.  23 


N 


nam  =  etenim,  Prop.  4,  3,  51 
nam  elliptical,  Tib.  i,  i,  11 
namque  elliptical.  Cat.  99,  3 
Nanno,  p.  17 

model  for  Propertius,  p.  17 
Naso,  Ovid,  Am.  Ep.  Ips. 

L.  Ovidius,  brother  of  Publius,  Ovid, 

Trist.  4,  10,  10 
Natalis,  Tib.  2,  2,  i 
nature,  Roman  lack  of  appreciation  of, 

Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  19 
Nauplius,  Prop.  4,  i,  115 
navigation,  beginnings  of.  Prop,  i,  17,  14 
Neaera,  p.  36;  Tib.  3,  2,  12 
Nemesis,    mistress   of   Tibullus,    p.    35 ; 

Tib.  2,  5,  109  sqq. ;   Ovid,  Am.  3, 

9,  31  and  S3 
the  sister  of,  Tib.  2,  6,  Intr. 
Nemesis  (Rhamniisia  virgo),  Cat.  66,  71 
Neptune,  Prop.  2,  26,  9  and  46;   3,  7,  15 

and  62;    3,  9,  39;   Ovid,  Her.  13, 

129 
Nereids,  Prop,  i,  17,  25;  3,  7,  67;  Ovid, 

Am.  2,  II,  35  sq. 
Nereus,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  11,  36  and  39 
Nesaee,  Prop.  2,  26,  16 
Nestor,  Prop.  2,  13,  46 
Neuricus,  Prop.  4,  3,  8 
New  Year's  in  Rome,  Tib.  4,  2,  Intr. 
Nicopolis,  Prop.  4,  6.  18 
Nike  of  Samothrace,  Tib.  2,  5,  45 
Nile,  Tib.  i,  7,  22  sqq.  ;   Prop.  2,  28,  18; 

3,  II,  42 
Ninus,  Prop.  3,  11,  26 
Nireus,  Prop.  3,  18,  27 
non  .  .  .  aut,  Prop.  2,  13,  50 


Nonnus,  Prop.  3,  2,  8 

non  .  .  .  utriusque  =  neutriusque,  Cat.  68, 

39 
novissima  verba,  Cat.  loi,  10 
Nox,  Tib.  2,  I,  87 
Numa,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  18 
Numantia,  Prop.  4,  11,  30 
Numicius,  Tib.  2,  s,  43 
Numidian  marble,  Prop.  2,  31,  i 
nunc  =  fvv  5^,  Cat.  66,  79 
Nux,  p.  58 


O 


Oarion,  Cat.  66,  94 

oaths,  formula  in.  Prop.  4,  11,  27 

oblitus  (pass.).  Prop,  i,  19,  6 

Oceanus,  Tib.  2,  5,  60 

Ocnus,  Prop.  4,  3,  21 

Octavia,  Prop.  3,  18,  12 

Octavian  as  princeps,  Prop.  4,  6,  46 

'October  horse,'  Prop.  4,  i,  20 

odorifer,  Prop.  2,  13,  23 

Odysseus,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  15 

Odyssey,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  30 

Oeta,  Cat.  68,  54 ;  Prop.  3,  i,  32 

Olympia,  Zeus  statue  at,  Prop.  3,  9,  15 

Olympic  games.   Prop.  3,  g,   17;    Ovid, 

Trist.  4,  10,  95 
omens.  Prop.  4,  3,  60 

triple,  most  perfect.  Prop.  4,  6,  30 
Omphale,  Prop.  3,  11,  17 
onomatopoeia,  Tib.  2,  5,  94 
onyx.  Cat.  66,  82 
Orcus,  Tib.  3,  3,  38 
Orestes,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  15 
Oricum,  Prop,  i,  8,  20;   3,  7,  49 
Orion,  Prop.  2,  26,  56 
Orithyia,  Prop.  2,  26,  51  ;   3,  7,  13 
Ormes,  Prop.  3,  11,  26 
Oromedon,  Prop.  3,  9,  48 
Orontes,  Prop,  i,  2,  3 
Orpheus,  Prop.  2,  13,  8 ;   3,  2,  3 ;   Ovid, 

Am.  2,  II,  32  ;  3,  9,  21 
Ortalus,  Cat.  65,  Intr. 
Ortygia,  Prop.  2,  31,  10 
Osiris,  Tib.  i,  7,  27  sqq. 
ossilegium,  Tib.  i,  3,  6;  3,  2,  9  sqq. 
Ostia,  Prop,  i,  8,  11 
Ovid,  pp.  55  sqq. 

Amores,  pp.  56,  58 


438 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Ars  Amatoria,  pp.  56,  57,  59 
associates,  p.  55 
banishment,  p.  56 
character,  p.  58  sq. 
early  life,  p.  55 
editions,  p.  61 
Ex  Ponto,  p.  58 
family,  p.  56 
Fasti,  p.  57 

and  his  Propertius  models,  p.  57 
Halieutica,  p.  58 
Her  aides,  pp.  57,  S  9 
Ibis,  p.  s8 

an  imitation  of  Callimachus,  p.  20 
manuscripts,  p.  60 
Medea,  p.  58 
Medicamina  Faciei,  p.  57 
Metamorphoses,  p.  58 
minor  works,  p.  58 
rank,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  3,  8 ;   3,  15,  5 
Remedia  Amoris,  p.  57 
spurious  poems,  p.  58 
style,  p.  59 
Tristia,  p.  58 
oxymoron,  Cat.  68,  18 


Pactolus,  Tib.  3,  3,  29;  Prop,  i,  6,  32; 

I,  14,  11;    2,  26,  23;    3,  18,  28; 

Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  34 
Padua,  Cat.  95,  7 

Paeligni,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  37  ;   3,  15,  8 
Paetus,  Prop.  3,  7,  5  el  passim 
Palatine,  Tib.  2,  5,  25;    Prop.  3,  9,  49; 

4.  1,3 
Apollo-temple    on    the.    Prop.    2,    31 

passim;  4,  6,  Intr.  «;<  passim 
Pales,  Tib.  2,  5,  28 
Palestine,  Tib.  i,  7,  18 
Palilia  (Parilia),  Tib.  i,  i,  21  ;    2,  5,  87; 

Prop.  4,  I,  19;  4,4,  73 
palla,  Prop.  4,  4,  60 
Palladium,  Prop.  4,  4,  45 
Pallas,  Prop.  2,  28,  12  ;  3,  9,  42  ;  4,  4,  45 ; 

Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  8 
Pan,  Til3.  2,  5,  27  ;  Prop,  i,  18,  20  ;  3,  3,  30 
Panchaia,  Tib.  3,  2,  23 
pandean  pipe,  Tib.  2,  5,  31 
Paphos,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  4 
Parcae,  Tib.  1,  7,  i 


Paris,  Prop.  3,  i,  30 and  32  ;  Ovid,  Am.  2, 

6,  42 
Parnassus,  Prop.  3,  3,  13 
Parrhasius,  Prop.  3,  9,  12 
Parthenium,  Prop,  i,  i,  11 
Parthenius,  p.  20 

and  Callus,  pp.  20,  24 

and  Vergil,  p.  20 

his  writings,  p.  20 
Parthians,  Prop.  2,  10,  14 ;   2,  13,  i ;  3,  4, 

I  et  passim;  4,  6,  79  and  82 
Pasiphae,  Prop.  2,  28,  52 
Paullus,  Aemilius,  conqueror  of  Perseus, 

Prop.  4,  II,  39 
Paullus,  L.  Aemilius,  Lepidus,  Prop.  4, 

II,  Intr.  et  passim 
pavement,  materials  for,  Tib.  i,  7,  59 
Pax,  Tib.  I,  10,  67 
peacock,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  55 
Pedum,  home  of  Tibullus,  pp.  33  sq. 
Pegasides,  Prop.  3,  i,  19 
Pegasus,  Prop.  3,  3.  2  ;   3,  3,  32 
peierat  .  .  .  esse.  Prop.  4,  3,  42 
Peleus,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  17 
Pelops,  Prop.  I,  2,  19  ;   i,  8b,  36  ;  4,  6,  33 
Pelusium,  Prop.  3,  9,  55 
Penelope,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  30 
pentameter,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  i,  4 

character  of,  p.  16 

endings  of  first  half  of,  p.  65 

end  rime  in,  p.  66 

middle  rime  in,  p.  66 

monosyllabic  endings  in,  p.  65 

origin  of,  p.  16 

polysyllabic  endings  in,  p.  65 

proportion  of  dactyls  and  spondees  in, 
p.  66 

separation  of  the  two  halves  of,  p.  66 
Pentelic  marble,  Prop.  3,  9,  16 
Penthesilea,  Prop.  3,  11,  14 
perfect  tense  without  perfect    significa- 
tion. Cat.  108,  4 ;  Tib.  i,  i,  29 
Pergama,  Prop.  3,  9,  39 
Pergamon,  Prop.  3,  9,  48 
Permessus,  Prop.  2,  10,  26 
Perrhaebi,  Prop.  3,  5,  33 
Persephone,  Tib.  3,  5,  5  ;  Prop.  2,  13,  26; 

2,  28,  47 
Perseus,  Prop.  2,  28,  22 
Perseus  of  Macedonia,  Prop.  3,  3>  8;  4, 
II,  39 


439 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Persians,  Prop.  3,  11,  21 

personal  pronouns,  liberal  use  of,  in  Tib., 

Tib.  I,  I,  5 
Perusina  .  .  .  scpidcra,  Prop,  i,  22,  3 
Petronius  in  Ethiopia,  Prop.  4,  6,  78 
Phaeacia,  Tib.  i,  3,  3 
Phanocles,  p.  19 

Pharos,  Tib.  i,  3,  32  ;  Prop.  3,  7,  5 
Pheneus,  Cat.  68,  109 
Phidias,  Prop.  3.  9,  15 
Philetas,  p.  19  ;   Prop.  3,  i,  i  ;  3,  9,  44; 

4,  6,  3 
Philip  of  Macedon,  Prop.  3,  11,  40 
Philitas  ( ?),  p.  19,  n.  i ;   Prop.  4,  6,  3 
Philomela,  Cat.  65,  14  ;  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  7 
Phlegraean  plains.  Prop.  3,  9,  48;   3,   11, 

37  ;   3,  18,  5 
Phocylides,  p.  17 
Phoebe,  Prop,  i,  2,  15 
Phoebus,  Tib.  4,  2,  22  ;   4,  4,  2  ;   4.  4,  3 

and  19  ;  Prop.  4,  6,  27  ;  Ovid,  Atn. 

I,  I,  II 
Phoenix,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  54 
Phraates,  Prop.  3,  4,  i 
Phylace,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  35 
Phylacides,  Prop,  i,  19,  7 
Phyto,  Tib.  2,  5,  68 
Pieria,  Prop.  2,  13,  5 
Pierian  springs,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  26 
Pierides,  Tib.  4,  2,  21  ;  Ovid,  Am.  1,  i,  6 
Pindus,  Prop.  3,  s,  33 
Piraeus,  Prop.  3,  21,  23  sq. 
Pirithous,  Ovid,  Trist.  i,  3,  66 
Pisa,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  95 
"pitcher  kiss,"  Tib.  2,  5,  92 
Pitys,  Prop,  i,  18,  20 
planetarium.  Prop.  4,  i,  76 
Plato,  p.  18;  Prop.  3,  21,  25 
Pleiades,  Prop,  i,  8,  10;  3,  s,  36 
Pliny  as  an  elegist,  pp.  18,  22 
plow,  Tib.  2,  I,  6 

invention  of,  Tib.  i,  7,  29 
pluperfect  for  imperfect.  Prop.  2,  13,  38 
Pluto,  Prop.  2,  28,  47  ;  4,  II,  s  find  18 
poetic  geography.  Cat.  66,  36 
poetic  plural,  Tib.  i,  3,  13 
PoUio,  Asinius,  p.  24 
Pollux,  Cat.  68,  6s 
Polydamas,  Prop.  3,  i,  29 
Polygnotus,  Prop.  4,  3,  21 
Polynices,  Prop,  i,  7,  2 


Polyphemus,  Prop.  3,  2,  7 

polysyllabic  endings  in  the  hexameter 

P-  63 
Polyxena,  Prop.  2,  13,  38 
Pomona,  Tib.  i,  i,  14 
Pompey,  Prop.  3,  11,  35,  38  and  68 
pomum  =  pomus,  Tib.  i,  i,  8 
Ponticus,  pp.  45.  55  ;  Prop,  i,  7.  i ;  Ovid, 

Trist.  4,  10,  47 
popae,  garments  of  the.  Prop.  4,  3,  62 
Porcius  Latro,  p.  55 
Porcius  Licinus,  p.  22 
Porticus  Octaviae,  Prop.  3,  18,  14 
Poseidippus,  p.  20 
postilla,  Cat.  84,  9 
post  modo,  original  meaning  of,  Tib.  2,  5, 

102 
pote,  Prop.  3,  7,  10 
potis  est,  Cat.  72,  7 
praelexta  of  childhood.  Prop.  4,  11,  33 
Praxiteles,  Prop.  3,  9,  16 
precor  with  inf.,  Tib.  2,  5,  3 
Priam,  Prop.  2,  28,  54 
Priapea  by  Tibullus  (  ?),  p.  38 
Priapus,  Tib.  i,  i,  17  sq. 
Procne,  Cat.  65,  14 
Prometheus,  Prop,  i,  12,  10;  3,  5,  7  sq. ; 

Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  40 
propempticon,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  11,  Intr. 
proper  names,  short  forms  of.  Prop.  3,  3, 

7 
Propertius,  p.  43  sqq. ;  Prop,  i,  22  ;  3,  3, 

17;   Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  45 
abruptness  in,  Prop.  3,  7,  i  and  43 
adulation  in,  Prop.  3,  9,  55 
birth  and  early  hfe,  p.  43  sq. 
character,  p.  49 
chronology  of  the  poems,  p.  49 
connected  elegies  in.  Prop.  3,  5,  Intr. 
debt  to  Calhmachus,  p.  20 
division  of  the  elegies  into  books,  p. 

48 
editions,  p.  54 
estrangement  for  a  year  from  Cynthia, 

Prop.  3,  16,  9 
friends,  p.  45 
Horace  and,  p.  45 
Maecenas  and,  p.  45 
manuscripts  of,  p.  52 
spontaneous  sympathy  in,  Prop.  3,  7, 

Intr. 


440 


GENERAL   INDEX 


style  of,  pp.  50-52 
theism  in,  Prop.  3,  5,  26 
prosody,  p.  67 

protasis  of  actuality,  Prop.  4,  i,  49 
Protesilaus,  Cat.  68,  74;   Prop,  i,  19,  7; 

Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  41  ;  Her.  13,  Intr. 

et  passim 
pseudonyms   of    the    mistresses   of    the 

elegists,  p.  26,  n.  2 
Ptolemy  II,  p.  19 
Ptolemy  Euergetes,  Cat.  66,  Intr. 
pulvis  Etrusca,  Prop,  i,  22,  6 
puriter,  Cat.  76,  19 
Pylades,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  15 
Pyrrhus,  Prop.  3,  11,  60 
Python,  Prop.  4,  6,  35 


quaene,  Cat.  68,  91 

quamvis  with  indicative,  Prop,  i,  18,  13 
quatido,  Prop.  2,  10,  8 
quantity,  before  mute  and  liquid,  Tib.  i, 
3,  18 
long  in  compounds  of  eo,  Ovid,  Her.  13, 

29 
shortening  of  final  0,  Tib.   2,  6,  41  ; 

Prop.  3,  9,  35 
gware.  Prop.  1,9,33 

quater  =  terque  quaterque,  Tib.  i,  10,  63 
-qiie,  favorite  position  of,  Tib.  2,  5,  72; 

Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  94 
-que  before  dissyllabic  pentameter  ending, 

Tib.  I,  I,  40 
-que  .  .  .  et,  Tib.  i,  i,  35 
questions,  exclamatory,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  9, 

41 
Quinctius  Atta,  p.  22 
Quindecimviri,  Tib.  2,  5,  Intr. 
Quinquatrus,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  13 
Quintia,  Cat.  86,  i 
Quintilia,  Cat.  96,  6 
Quintilian,  his  estimate  of  Roman  elegy, 

p.  22 
Quirinus,  Tib.  2,  5,  43;  Prop.  4,  6,  21 
Quirites,  Prop.  4,  i,  13 
quis  =  aliquis,  Tib.  i,  10,  13 
quis  —  quibus,  Prop,  i,  8b,  42 
quisquam  as  a  universal  affirmative,  Cat. 

76,  7 
quisquis  =  quisque,  Cat.  68,  28 


Rea  Silvia,  Tib.  2,  5,  52 

recitationes,  introduction  of,  Ovid,  Trist. 

4.  10.  57 
religious  conservatism,  Tib.  i,  i,  38 
Remus,  Tib.  2,  5,  24;   Prop.  3,  9,  50;  4, 

I,  9  and  so 
Remus  for  Romulus,  Prop.  4,  6,  80 
repetitions  in  TibuUus,  Tib.  i,  i,  43 
Rhadamanthus,  Prop.  4,  11,  21 
Rhine,  Prop.  3,  3,  45 
Rhoeteum,  Cat.  65,  7  ;   101,  Intr. 
rhombus.  Prop.  2,  28,  35 
rime.  Prop,  i,  8b,  34 

in  hexameter,  pp.  63-65 

middle,  in  hexameter.  Prop.  3,  7,  i 
rivers  of  Tartarus,  Tib.  i,  3,  68 
Roma,  Tib.  2,  5,  57 
Romanus  Callimachus,  Prop.  4,  i,  64 
Romtda  =  Romana,  Prop.  3,  11,  52  ;   4, 

4,26 
Romulus,  Tib.  2,  5,  23 

and  Remus,  bronze  group.  Prop.  3,  9, 

SI 
taking  augury.  Prop.  4,  6,  43  sq. 
rustic  divinities,  Tib.  i,  i,  11 
rustic  festivals,  Tib.  2,  i,  Intr. 
Rutuli,  Tib.  2,  5,  47 


Sabina  (herba),  Prop.  4,  3,  58 

Sabine  women.  Prop.  4,  4,  59 

sacrificial  forms.  Prop.  4,  6,  5  sqq. 

sacrificial  vessels,  Tib.  i,  i,  38 

Santones,  Tib.  i,  7,  10 

Sappho,  p.  26 

Sarmatae,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  no 

Satrachus,  Cat.  95,  5 

Saturn,  Tib.  i,  3,  35 

Saturnia,  Tib.  3,  3,  33 

Salurni  diem,  Tib.  i,  3,  18 

saviolum.  Cat.  99,  2 

Scaean  gate.  Prop.  3,  9,  39 

Scalae  Caci,  Prop.  4,  i,  9 

Scamander,  Prop.  3,  i,  27 

Schiller,  Prop.  3,  24,  Intr. ;  Ovid,  Am.  i, 

I,  27 
scibant.  Cat.  68,  85 
Scipiadae,  Prop.  3,  11,  67 


441 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Scipio,  P.  Cornelius,  Prop.  4,  ii,  Intr. 

Scipio  Africanus,  Prop.  4,  11,  30 

Sdron,  Prop.  3,  16,  12 

Scopas,  Prop.  2,  31,  15 

Scribonia,  Prop.  4,  11,  Intr.  and  55 

scripture  parallels,  Prop.  3,  5,  14 

scutum,  Prop.  4,  4,  20 

ScyUa,  Prop.  2,  26,  53 ;  Ovid,  Am.  2,  16, 

23 

and  Charybdis,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  11,  18 

of  Megara,  Prop.  4,  4,  39 
Scythia,  Prop.  4,  3,  47 
Semele,  Prop.  2,  28,  27 
Semiramis,  Prop.  3,  11,  21  and  26 
Senate,  original  Roman,  Prop.  4,  i,  14 
Septemtriones,  Prop.  3,  5,  35 
Septimontium,  Tib.  2,  5,  55 
Seres,  Prop,  i,  14,  22 
"  Seven  against  Thebes,"  Prop.  3,  9,  38 
seventh  day  in  illness,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  45 
sex  crines,  Prop.  4,  11,  34 
Sextus  Pompey,  Prop.  4,  i,  3 
Shakespeare,  Cat.  68,  50  and  70 ;  Tib.  i, 

1,  60;   4,  13,  II ;    Prop.  I,  9,  24; 

2,  11,3;  2,  12,  3;  3,  21,3 
shortening  of  final  syllable.  Prop.  3,  11,  53 
Sibyl,  Cumaean,  Tib.  2,  5,  15  and  67; 

Prop.  4.  I,  49 
SibyUine  books,  Tib.  2,  5,  Intr. ;    Prop. 

2,  31,  Intr. 
sic  in  adjurations,  Tib.  2,  5,  63 
Sidonius,  Tib.  3,  3,  18 
Silanus,  p.  56 
Silenus,  Prop.  3,  3,  29 
Silvanus,  Tib.  i,  i,  14;   Prop.  4,  4,  5 
simile,  Cat.  68,  57 
Simois,  Prop.  3,  i,  27  ;   Ovid,  Am.  i,  15, 

10 
Simonides,  of  Amorgos,  p.  17 
of  Ceos,  p.  18 

friend  of  Theognis,  p.  17 
siris,  Cat.  66,  91 
Sinus,  Tib.  i,  i,  27;    i,  7,  21 ;    2,  1,  47; 

Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  3  sq. 
Sirmio,  pp.  25,  27 
Sisyphus,  Prop.  3,  5,  42 
slaves,  branding  of,  Tib.  2,  6,  5 
Socrates,  Prop.  4,  3,  21 
Sol,  Prop.  2,  31,  II 
Solon,  p.  17 
Solonium,  Prop.  4,  i,  31 


Somnus,  Tib.  2,  i,  89  sq. 

sors,  Tib.  i,  3,  11  ;  Ovid,  Her.  13,  93 

soul,  abode  of,  after  death,  Tib.  2,  6,  30- 

3,  2,  22 
Spes,  Tib.  i,  i,  9  and  14;   2,  6,  20  sqq. 
spinning,  Tib.  2,  i,  64 
spondaic  hexameter.  Cat.  116,  3 
spondees  in  hexameter,  p.  63 
statues  at  Rome,  Prop.  3,  11,  46 
stola,  Prop.  4,  II,  61 
Strymon,  Prop.  4,  4,  72 
S-  T-  T-  L,  Tib.  2,  6,  30  ;  Prop,  i,  17,  21 ; 

Ovid,  Am.  2,  x6,  15 
Styx,  Prop.  3,  18,  9;   4-  3,  IS 
subter  with  abl.,  Cat.  65,  7 
Suetonius's  life  of  TibuUus,  p.  32 
Suillius  Rufus,  P.,  Ovid,  Trist.  i,  3.  97 
Sulmo,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  i  ;   Trist.  4,  10,  3 
Suipicia,  pp.  34,  37  ;  Tib.  2,  2,  Intr.;  4,  2, 

I 
"  Garland  of,"  p.  37 
sun  spots,  Tib.  2,  5,  76 
suovetaurilia,  Tib.  2,  i,  Intr. 
Susa,  Prop.  2,  13,  i 
Sycambri,  Prop.  4,  6,  77 
Symplegades,  Prop.  2,  26,  39 ;  Ovid,  Ani' 

2,  II,  3 
synchysis,  Tib.  i,  i,  51 
sj-ncopated  perfects,  Prop,  i,  7,  S 
synecdoche,  Prop.  2,  26,  i 

synizesis,  Cat.  82,  3  ;   Ovid,  Am.  3,  9,  21 

syntax,  Propertian,  Prop,  i,  19,  19;    2, 

13,  28  and  55  ;    2,  27,  11  ;   3,  3,  4; 

3,  5,  27;   3.  7,  49 

vagueness  in,  Prop.  2, 12, 16  ;  3, 11,  34 ; 

4,  3,  10 
Syphax;  Prop.  3,  11,  59 

Syrtes,  Prop.  3,  24,  16;  Ovid,  Am.  2,  11, 
20 


Tacitus,  his  estimate  of  elegy,  p.  24 
Taenarum,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  45 

marble  from.  Prop.  3,  2, 11 
Taenarus,  Tib.  3,  3, 14 
Tagus,  Ovid,  ^m.  i,  15,  34 
Tantalus,  Tib.  i,  3,  77 ;   Prop.  3,  5.  42 
TarbeUi,  Tib.  i,  7,  9 
Tarpeia,  Prop.  4,  4  passim 

a  vestal  virgin,  Prop.  4,  4,  15 


AA2 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Tarpeia  myth,  Prop.  4,  4,  Intr. 
Tarpeiau  Rock,  Prop.  3,  11,  45 
Tarpeia's  tomb.  Prop.  4,  4,  i 
Tarpeius  paler,  Prop.  4,  i,  7 
Tarquinius    Superbus,    Prop.   3,    11,   47 

sq. 
Taurus,  Tib.  i,  7,  15 
Tegea,  Prop.  3,  3,  30 
Tellus,  Prop,  i,  19,  16 
Tempe,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  i,  15 
Tenedos,  Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  g 
Tennyson,  Cat.  loi,  Intr. 
tepefactat,  Cat.  68,  29 
Tereus,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  7 
Terminus,  Tib.  i,  i,  n 
tertia  regna,  Tib.  3,  s,  22 
fete.  Cat.  loi,  s 
Tethys,  Cat.  66,  70 
Teucri,  Prop.  4,  6,  21 
Thalia,  Ovid,  Trisl.  4,  10,  56 
'Thebaid,'  Prop.  3,  9,  38 

of  Antimachus,  p.  18 
Thebes,  Prop,  i,  7.  i  ;   3,  2,  s  ;   3,  18,  6 
Themis,  Cat.  68,  153 
Theocritus,  pp.  19,  20;  Prop.  2,  12,  17  ;  3 

2,  8 
Theognis,  p.  17 
Thermodon,  Prop.  4,  4,  71 
Thermopylae,  Cat.  68,  54 
Thersites,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  6,  41 
Theseus,  Prop.  4,  4,  41 ;  Ovid,  Trist.  i,  3, 

66 
street  of,  Prop.  3,  21,  24 
Thessalis,  Prop,  i,  19,  10 
Thessaly,  plains  of.  Prop.  2,  10,  2 
Thetis,  Prop.  3,  7,  68;   Ovid,  Am.  2,  17, 

17 
Thia,  Cat.  66,  44 

Tiber,  Prop,  i,  14,  i ;  3,  11,  42 ;  4,  i,  8 
tibia,  Tib.  2,  i,  86 

Tibullus,  pp.  31   sqq. ;    Tib.  4,   13,   13; 
Ovid,  Am.  i,  15,  28;  3,  9  passim; 
Trist.  4,  10,  51 
character,  p.  38 
characteristic  course  of  thought,  Tib. 

I,   I,  Intr. 
date  of  birth,  p.  32  sq. 
editions,  p.  42 
Horace  and,  p.  ss 
manuscripts  of,  p.  41 
mistresses  of,  p.  35 


nature  poet,  p.  39,  n.  i 
property  of,  Tib.  i,  i,  2  and  s 
Quintilian's  estimate  of,  p.  39 
repetitions  in,  Tib.  i,  i,  6;    i,  3,  5 
style,  p.  40 

Tibur,  p.  25  ;   Prop.  3,  16,  2 
Cynthia's  home,  p.  46 

Ticidas,  pp.  22,  25 

Timotheus,  Prop.  2,  31,  15 

Tisiphone,  Tib.  i,  3,  69  ;  Prop.  3,  s,  40 

Titus  Tatius,  Prop.  4,  i,  30;    4,  4,  7  ei 
passim 

Tityos,  Tib.  i,  3,  75  ;  Prop.  3.  5,  44 

Tmolus,  Prop.  3,  11,  18 

toasts,  phrases  in  drinking,  Tib.  2,  i,  31 

toga.  Cat.  68,  15' 

toga  picia.  Prop.  4,  4,  53 

toga   virilis,    assumption    of    the,    Ovid, 
Trist.  4,  10,  27 

tombs,  decoration  of,  Prop.  3,  16,  23 
location  of,  Tib.  3,  2,  28;   Prop.  3,  16, 

25 

offerings  at,  Tib.  2,  6,  31 
Tomi,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  97  and  113 
topography,  vague,  Prop.  4,  4,  15 
trajection,  Tib.  i,  7,  12  ;   Prop.  4,  i,  57 

of  at.  Prop.  I,  6,  22 
tresviri,  Ovid,  Trist.  4,  10,  34 
tribes,  original  Roman,  Prop.  4,  i,  31 
Trinacria,  Cat.  68,  53 
Triton,  Prop.  4,  6,  61 ;   Ovid,  Am.  2,  11, 

27 
triumph,  Tib.  i,  7,  8;    2,  5,  116;    Prop. 

3,  4.  13  sqq.;   4,  i,  32;    4.  4.  531 

4,  6,  Intr. 

triumphs  of  Romulus,  Prop.  4,  i,  32 

Trivia,  Cat.  66,  5 

Troia,  Prop.  2,  28,  53 ;  4,  i,  39 

Trojan  horse.  Prop.  4,  i,  42 

trophies,  Tib.  i,  i,  54 

Tullianum,  Prop.  4,  4,  14 

Tullus,  p.  45  ;   Prop.  1,1,9;   1,6,  Intr.: 

I,  22,  I 
Tumus,  Tib.  2,  5,  48 
turpentine  wood.  Prop.  3,  7,  49 
Tusculum,  Tib.  i,  7,  57 
tympana,  Prop.  3,  3,  28 
Tyndaridae,  Prop,  i,  17,  18 
Tyrian  purple,  Tib.  4,  2,  16 
Tyro,  Prop.  2,  28,  51 
Tyrtaeus,  p.  17 


44.3 


GENERAL   INDEX 


U 


Ulixes,  Prop.  3,  7,  41 

ullae  =  ulli,  Tib.  4,  6,  g 

ulterius  as  a  preposition,  Prop,  i,  6,  4 

Umbria,  Prop,  i,  22,  g ;  4,  i,  121 

birthplace  of  Propertius,  Prop.  4,  i,  64 
uncleanness,  ceremonial,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  g, 

19 
unigena,  Cat.  66,  53 


Valerius  Aedituus,  p.  22 

Valerius  Cato,  pp.  22,  25 

Valgius  Rufus,  C,  p.  23 

vallus,  Tib.  i,  10,  g 

Varro  Atacinus,  pp.  22,  28;    Ovid,  Am. 

I.  15.  21 
Velabrum,  Tib.  2,  s,  33 
Veneres,  Cat.  86,  6 
venio  =  sum,  Prop,  i,  18,  14 
Venus,  Tib.  i,  i,  73 ;   4,  2,  3  ;  4,  13,  23  ; 
Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  ig 

Anadyomene,  Prop.  3,  g,  11 

Erycina,  Ovid,  Am.  3,  g,  45 

the  Julian  family  and.  Prop.  4,  i,  46 
V^ergil,  Ovid,  Am.    i,  15,  25;    3,  15,  7  ; 
Trist.  4,  10,  SI 

fourth  Georgic,  GaJlus  and  the,  p.  24 

Callus  and,  p.  24 

Parthenius  and,  p.  20 

praiser  of  poets,  p.  21 

student  of  Catullus,  p.  28 

TibuUus  and,  p.  33 
Verginius  Rufus,  p.  22 
Verona,  Cat.  68,  27 ;  Ovid,  Am.  3,  15,  7 
Verrius  Flaccus,  p.  57 
Vertumnus,  Tib.  i,  i,  14;  4,  2,  13 
vescar  with  ace,  Tib.  2,  5,  64 


Vesper,  Prop.  4,  3,  29 

Vesta,  Prop.  3,  4,  11 ;  4,  4,  6g 

feast  of.  Prop.  4,  i,  21 

fire  and  temple  of.  Prop.  4,  4,  45 
Vestal  virgin.  Prop.  4,  4,  15 
veto  with  subjv.,  Tib.  2,  6,  36 
Via  Lata,  Prop.  3,  i,  14 
Via  Latina,  Tib.  1,  7,  57 
Victoria,  Tib.  2,  5,  45 
vine-props,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  16,  41 
Virgo,  Cat.  66,  65 

vocative  In  Propertius,  Prop,  i,  8,  19 
Volusius,  Cat.  gs,  7 
Vulcan,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  17,  19 

W 

wax  likenesses,  Ovid,  Her.  13,  152 
weaving,  Tib.  2,  i,  66 

vertical,  Prop.  4,  3,  15 
wedding  procession.  Prop.  4,  3,  13 
Whitman,  Walt,  Prop.  3,  3,  4 
wine-making,  Tib.  i,  i,  10;    2,  5,  85 
wines.  Prop.  4,  6,  73 
wolf,  of  Mars,  Prop.  4,  i,  55 
wooden  cups,  Tib.  i,  10,  8 
wooden  horse.  Prop.  3,  g,  42 
wreathing,  of  cattle,  Tib.  2,  i,  8 

of  cups  and  bowls,  Tib.  2,  5,  98 


Zenodotus,  p.  19 
Zephyritis,  Cat.  66,  57 
Zephyrus,  Ovid,  Am.  2,  11,  41 
zeugma,  Tib.  3,  3,  21 ;   Prop.  3,  9,  24 
Zeus-altar  at  Pergamum,  Prop.  3,  9,  48 
Zeus-temple  at  Olympia,  Prop.  3,  2,  2C 
Zmyma,  Cat.  95,  i 
zones,  Prop.  4,  i,  108 


444 


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